Caissa Codex
E14

Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 6. c4 g6

Chess diagram: Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 after 6…g6

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

544 games: White 45.8% / Draw 8.8% / Black 45.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
424424
4444
2222
2020
1414
55
55
44

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.96 White is better

Best play: 7. d5 exd5 8. cxd5 Bxd5 9. e4 Be6 10. e5 Nh5 11. Nc3 Nc6

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

Overview

Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (ECO E14, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Queen's Indian Defense, with e3, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c4 g6 (6 moves).

In 544 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.8%, Black 45.4% and 8.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Nc3, in 78% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…g6, the position after Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 (E14)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-with-e3-5

https://chesscodex.org/openings/queens-indian-defense-with-e3-5