Caissa Codex
E12

Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack after 7. Qc2

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

15,612 games: White 48.2% / Draw 8.5% / Black 43.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
6,9666,966
3,7013,701
1,9771,977
1,7931,793
525525
299299
9191
7272

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.15 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... Nxc3 8. bxc3 Nd7 9. e4 c5 10. Bf4 cxd4 11. cxd4 Rc8 12. Qb3

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

Overview

Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack (ECO E12, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Modern Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2 (7 moves).

In 15,612 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 43.3% and 8.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Be7, in 45% 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: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack

7…Nxc3 scores best for Black: 49.9%, with Black winning 45.0% and White 45.1% of 3,701 games. The most played, 7…Be7, scores 47.6% in 6,966 games, and 7…c5 scores lowest: 44.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…Nxc3.

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. Qc2, the position after Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Modern Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Kasparov Attack (E12)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-kasparov-petrosian-variation-kasparov-attack

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