Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
523,313 games: White 49.8% / Draw 7.8% / Black 42.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 433,618434K | ||
| 37,88638K | ||
| 25,29025K | ||
| 12,12612K | ||
| 3,3823,382 | ||
| 2,7502,750 | ||
| 2,4912,491 | ||
| 1,5581,558 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 26, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.23 The position is about equal
Best play: 6... O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Bd2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bf4 Nxc3 11. bxc3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 54% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3,166 | |
| 1400–1799 | 43K | |
| 1800–2199 | 272K | |
| 2200 and up | 219K | |
| Masters, over the board | 8,973 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Grischuk, A.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Ding Liren
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation (ECO E17, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Traditional Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O (6 moves).
In 523,313 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.8%, Black 42.4% and 7.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…O-O, in 83% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation and Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit. In all, 8 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation
The most played answer, 6…O-O, also scores best for Black: 46.9%, with Black winning 42.9% and White 49.1% of 434K games. Of the main answers, 6…d6 scores lowest: 44.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…O-O.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.027% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.02% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.018% | 6,534 |
| 2017 | 0.023% | 12,666 |
| 2018 | 0.027% | 21,162 |
| 2019 | 0.025% | 30,651 |
| 2020 | 0.023% | 68,424 |
| 2021 | 0.018% | 70,320 |
| 2022 | 0.019% | 70,164 |
| 2023 | 0.019% | 72,699 |
| 2024 | 0.019% | 69,469 |
| 2025 | 0.02% | 69,697 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.021% | 22,783 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (5)
All 8 named lines that continue from here
- E17 Polugaevsky Gambit 8 moves
- E17 Taimanov Gambit 8 moves
- E18 Traditional Variation 7 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Euwe Variation 7 moves
- E17 Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Kramnik Variation 7 moves
- E18 Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Tiviakov Defense 7 moves
- E19 Main Line 9 moves
- E18 Nimzowitsch Line 7 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation (E17)”. Lichess data as of 26 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-classical-variation