Caissa Codex
E12

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

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Petrosian Attack after 7. e3

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Statistics from Lichess

12,980 games: White 47.3% / Draw 7.2% / Black 45.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
6,0876,087
1,9311,931
1,8851,885
1,0881,088
827827
740740
148148
8686

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.19 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... Nd7 8. Bd3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 c5 10. O-O Be7 11. e4 Qc7 12. h4

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, Petrosian 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. e3 (7 moves).

In 12,980 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.3%, Black 45.6% and 7.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Be7, in 47% of those games.

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

7…Bd6 scores best for Black: 51.9%, with Black winning 49.3% and White 45.6% of 827 games. The most played, 7…Be7, scores 49.5% in 6,087 games, and 7…c5 scores lowest: 46.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 7…Nd7.

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. e3, 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, Petrosian Attack (E12)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-kasparov-petrosian-variation-petrosian-attack

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