Caissa Codex
E19

Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Main Line

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Main Line after 9. Qxc3

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Statistics from Lichess

58,404 games: White 44.1% / Draw 10.7% / Black 45.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
16,49416K
15,83216K
10,16810K
10,07310K
4,2574,257
622622
505505
133133

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.18 The position is about equal

Best play: 9... d6 10. b3 Qe8 11. Bb2 f5 12. Ne1 Bxg2 13. Nxg2 Nd7 14. Qf3

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, Traditional Variation, Main Line (ECO E19, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 (9 moves).

In 58,404 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.1%, Black 45.2% and 10.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…f5, in 28% of those games.

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How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Main Line

9…c5 scores best for Black: 51.8%, with Black winning 46.7% and White 43.1% of 10K games. The most played, 9…f5, scores 50.2% in 16K games, and 9…Bf6 scores lowest: 49.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 9…d6.

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 7…Ne4 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. Qxc3, the position after Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Main Line (E19)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-classical-variation-traditional-variation-main-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-classical-variation-traditional-variation-main-line