Caissa Codex
E12

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

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense after 5…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.

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Statistics from Lichess

111,394 games: White 51.5% / Draw 6.1% / Black 42.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
33,32033K
24,38524K
15,50916K
12,56913K
11,15511K
8,4298,429
2,0062,006
1,6771,677

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.70 White is better

Best play: 6. d5 O-O 7. e4 d6 8. Nd4 exd5 9. cxd5 c6 10. Be3 cxd5

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, Marco Defense (ECO E12, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Be7 (5 moves).

In 111,394 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.5%, Black 42.4% and 6.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. d5, in 30% of those games.

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

The most played answer, 6. d5, also scores best for White: 59.6%, with White winning 56.7% and Black 37.5% of 33K games. Of the main answers, 6. e3 scores lowest: 49.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. d5.

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 5…Be7, the position after Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Marco Defense (E12)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-kasparov-petrosian-variation-marco-defense

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