Caissa Codex
E17

Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit after 8. Nh4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

33,916 games: White 53.6% / Draw 6.3% / Black 40.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
22,68123K
4,0234,023
2,1892,189
1,7641,764
945945
680680
552552
460460

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.04 The position is about equal

Best play: 8... c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. e4 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nc3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit (ECO E17, Indian Defenses) is a gambit in the Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4 (8 moves).

In 33,916 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.6%, Black 40.0% and 6.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…c6, in 67% of those games.

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How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit

8…Ne4 scores best for Black: 46.8%, with Black winning 43.7% and White 50.1% of 4,023 games. The most played, 8…c6, scores 44.0% in 23K games, and 8…d6 scores lowest: 37.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 8…c6.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4, the position after Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Polugaevsky Gambit (E17)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-classical-variation-polugaevsky-gambit

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-classical-variation-polugaevsky-gambit