Caissa Codex
E15

Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, Nimzowitsch Attack

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, Nimzowitsch Attack after 5. Qa4

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Statistics from Lichess

25,140 games: White 48.3% / Draw 8.0% / Black 43.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
11,11811K
4,9764,976
4,9594,959
3,5833,583
227227
108108
8181
2727

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

Engine evaluation

+0.10 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... Bb7 6. Bg2 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 a5 10. Qc2

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, Nimzowitsch Variation, Nimzowitsch Attack (ECO E15, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qa4 (5 moves).

In 25,140 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.3%, Black 43.7% and 8.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bb7, in 44% of those games.

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How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, Nimzowitsch Attack

5…c6 scores best for Black: 49.0%, with Black winning 44.7% and White 46.6% of 4,976 games. The most played, 5…Bb7, scores 48.8% in 11K games, and 5…Be7 scores lowest: 43.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Bb7.

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 5. Qa4, the position after Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, Nimzowitsch Attack (E15)”. Lichess data as of 26 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-nimzowitsch-variation-nimzowitsch-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-nimzowitsch-variation-nimzowitsch-attack