Queen's Indian Defense
ECO E12 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6
The Queen's Indian Defense, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6, controls the e4 square by fianchettoing the queen's bishop. It is a solid partner to the Nimzo-Indian when White avoids 3.Nc3 and the pin, and has long been a favorite of positional players.
Plans for White
White usually plays g3 and Bg2 to fight for the long diagonal, or a3 (the Petrosian System) to prevent ...Bb4 and prepare Nc3 with d5 ideas. Classical development with e3 and Bd3 is a quieter choice.
Plans for Black
Black uses ...Bb7 or ...Ba6 (pressuring c4), ...Bb4+ or ...Be7, and ...d5 or ...c5 at the right moment to equalize. Control of e4 by the bishop and knight is the main theme.
Typical pawn structures
Flexible: often a long-diagonal fight with White's pawns on d4 and c4 against Black's d5 or d6 and e6. Hedgehog structures can also arise.
Who it suits
Solid players who want a low-risk setup with clear ideas against 3.Nf3.
Common traps
The Monticelli trap: in the fianchetto lines, a premature ...Ne4 can allow Qc2 and Ng5, winning material on the long diagonal.
Variations
- Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O
- Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3
- Queen's Indian Defense, with e3 — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 b6 5. Nc3 Bb7
- Queen's Indian Defense: Miles Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Bf4
- Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Capablanca Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+
- Queen's Indian Defense: Spassky System3 — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 c5
- Queen's Indian Defense: Traditional Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7
- Queen's Indian Defense: Anti-Queen's Indian System — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Riumin Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7
- Queen's Indian Defense: Yates Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. g3 b6 6. Bg2 Bb7
- Queen's Indian Defense: Buerger Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. Ng5
- Queen's Indian Defense: Euwe Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. b3
- Queen's Indian Defense: Opocensky Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. Bd2
- Queen's Indian Defense: Averbakh Variation — 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 c5 6. O-O Be7 7. b3 O-O 8. Bb2 cxd4 9. Nxd4