Caissa Codex
E15

Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, Intermezzo Line

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, Intermezzo Line after 6…Be7

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.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

55,668 games: White 43.5% / Draw 9.2% / Black 47.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
44,56845K
8,0708,070
2,5692,569
309309
3535
2323
2222
1919

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Sep 26, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.19 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bg2 d5 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Ne5 f6

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

Overview

Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, Intermezzo Line (ECO E15, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 (6 moves).

In 55,668 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 43.5%, Black 47.4% and 9.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bg2, in 80% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, Intermezzo Line

7. Nc3 scores best for White: 52.3%, with White winning 47.7% and Black 43.1% of 8,070 games. The most played answer, 7. Bg2, scores lowest: 47.1% in 45K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. Nc3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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. Bd2 Be7, the position after Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Check Variation, Intermezzo Line (E15)”. Lichess data as of 26 Sep 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-check-variation-intermezzo-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-check-variation-intermezzo-line