Caissa Codex
E12

Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation after 5. Nc3

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Statistics from Lichess

313,023 games: White 50.3% / Draw 6.8% / Black 42.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Main Line 109,140109K
Marco Defense 105,818106K
29,67830K
Andersson Variation 23,00023K
16,58617K
Hedgehog Variation 10,32410K
4,7214,721
3,6993,699

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.15 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... d5 6. Qc2 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bd2 O-O 9. Rd1 Nxc3 10. Bxc3

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 53% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 55% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 5,903
1400–1799 44K
1800–2199 157K
2200 and up 127K
Masters, over the board 9,704

Master games

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation (ECO E12, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 (5 moves).

In 313,023 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.3%, Black 42.9% and 6.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…d5, in 35% of those games.

It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Main Line and Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense. In all, 10 named lines continue from it.

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How to play against the Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation

5…Ne4 (Andersson Variation) scores best for Black: 48.8%, with Black winning 44.6% and White 46.9% of 23K games. The most played, 5…d5, scores 47.7% in 109K games, and 5…c5 scores lowest: 43.2%. 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

Popularity by year

The Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation peaked in 2018 at 0.017% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.013% in 2025.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.014%5,110
20170.016%8,914
20180.017%13,375
20190.014%17,898
20200.013%37,946
20210.011%41,315
20220.011%40,209
20230.011%42,548
20240.011%40,766
20250.013%43,985
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.014%14,859

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Variations (4)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…Bb7 5. Nc3, the position after Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation also goes on to:

All 10 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation (E12)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-kasparov-petrosian-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-kasparov-petrosian-variation