Caissa Codex
E15

Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, Timman's Line

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation, Timman's Line after 5. Qb3

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Statistics from Lichess

3,322 games: White 52.2% / Draw 8.3% / Black 39.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,1261,126
710710
472472
412412
319319
266266
66
33

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

Engine evaluation

+0.16 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... d5 6. cxd5 Qxd5 7. Qd1 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 Nc6 10. Nc3

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, Timman's Line (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. Qb3 (5 moves).

In 3,322 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.2%, Black 39.5% and 8.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Nc6, in 34% of those games.

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

The most played answer, 5…Nc6, also scores best for Black: 48.6%, with Black winning 44.6% and White 47.4% of 1,126 games. Of the main answers, 5…Bb7 scores lowest: 37.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…d5.

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. Qb3, 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, Timman's Line (E15)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-fianchetto-variation-nimzowitsch-variation-timmans-line

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