Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System 4. e3 Bb7
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Statistics from Lichess
450,268 games: White 46.5% / Draw 5.7% / Black 47.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 147,817148K | ||
| 145,679146K | ||
| 83,06683K | ||
| 25,09225K | ||
| 19,53320K | ||
| 16,08816K | ||
| 5,8215,821 | ||
| 2,1482,148 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.14 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. Nc3 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. b3 O-O 8. Bb2 a6 9. O-O Nbd7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 49% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 49K | |
| 1400–1799 | 261K | |
| 1800–2199 | 242K | |
| 2200 and up | 49K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,921 |
Master games
- Nakamura, H. – Carlsen, M.
- Kramnik, V. – Kasparov, G.
- Erigaisi, A. – Keymer, V.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Kramnik, V.
- Kramnik, V. – Leko, P.
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: Spassky System (ECO E14, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 (4 moves).
In 450,268 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.5%, Black 47.7% and 5.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Nc3, in 33% of those games.
It continues into one named variation. In all, 5 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 4…Bb7
5. Bd3 scores best for White: 51.0%, with White winning 48.1% and Black 46.0% of 83K games. The most played answer, 5. Nc3, scores lowest: 48.5% in 148K games. Stockfish's first choice is 5. Nc3.
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
Popularity by year
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.016% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.021%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.021% | 7,618 |
| 2017 | 0.022% | 11,898 |
| 2018 | 0.022% | 17,530 |
| 2019 | 0.021% | 25,701 |
| 2020 | 0.019% | 54,516 |
| 2021 | 0.016% | 64,141 |
| 2022 | 0.017% | 63,597 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 64,076 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 57,929 |
| 2025 | 0.016% | 56,306 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.017% | 18,660 |
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 (1)
All 5 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System (E14)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-spassky-system-2