Queen's Indian Defense

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This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Queen's Indian Defense
Moves	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6
ECO	E12-E19
Parent	Indian Defense
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The Queen's Indian Defense^[1] is a chess opening defined by the moves

1. d4 Nf6

2. c4 e6

3. Nf3 b6

The move 3…b6 increases Black’s control over the central light squares e4 and d5 by preparing to fianchetto the queen’s bishop, with the opening deriving its name from this manoeuvre. As in the other Indian defenses, Black attempts to control the center with his pieces, instead of occupying it with his pawns in classical style.

By playing 3.Nf3, White sidesteps the Nimzo-Indian Defense that arises after 3.Nc3 Bb4. The Queen’s Indian is regarded as the sister opening of the Nimzo-Indian, since both openings aim to impede White’s efforts to gain full control of the center by playing e2-e4. Together, they form one of Black’s most well-respected responses to 1.d4.

If Black does not wish to play the Queen’s Indian in response to 3.Nf3, alternatives include: 3…d5, transposing to the Queen's Gambit Declined; 3…Bb4+, the Bogo-Indian Defense; and 3…c5, which typically leads to a Modern Benoni or a Symmetrical English.

Variations

White usually chooses one of the following moves to counter the Queen’s Indian: 4.g3, 4.Nc3, 4.a3, 4.e3 or 4.Bf4.

4.g3

This has long been White’s most popular line against the Queen’s Indian. It contests the long diagonal by preparing to fianchetto the light-squared bishop. The standard response for Black through the 1970s was 4…Bb7, but 4…Ba6 has since become the topical line. A rarer third option is 4…Bb4+, which aims to exchange the less useful dark-squared bishop, though this lines tends to leave Black with a slightly passive position.

4…Ba6: the modern main line

White can defend the pawn at c4 with a piece by playing 5.Nbd2, 5.Qa4, 5.Qc2 or 5.Qb3, but these moves all diminish control of d4, making …c7-c5 a potentially effective reply for Black. Therefore 5.b3 is White’s most common response.^[2] However, it weakens the dark squares slightly, which Black can take advantage of by playing 5…Bb4+. Now 6.Nbd2? loses material after 6…Bc3 7.Rb1 Bb7 threatening 8…Be4, an opening trap which has ensnared players like Kamran Shirazi.^[3] White's best move is therefore 6.Bd2. However, after 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 Black is ready to play …d7-d5, again attacking the c-pawn. If White captures on d5 then …cxd5 is considered to equalize for Black. Thus White usually plays 8.Bc3 to clear this square, and the main line continues 8…d5 9.Ne5 Nfd7 10.Nxd7 Nxd7 11.Nd2. The effect of Black’s check has been to lure White’s bishop to c3 where it blocks the c-file. This, the current main line of the entire Queen’s Indian, is considered equal. After 5.b3, Black also has several playable moves other than 5…Bb4+. The most common alternative is 5…Bb7 6.Bg2 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 a5. When White plays Nc3, Black will exchange bishop for knight in order to enhance his control over the central light squares, and play on the queenside with moves such as …a5-a4 and …b5. Other possibilities for Black include 5…d5 and 5…b5. More recently, several grandmasters, including Alexander Beliavsky, Ni Hua, Veselin Topalov, and Magnus Carlsen, have played the 5.Qc2 alternative. The idea is to allow Black's counterthrust ...c5, the main line running 5...Bb7 6.Bg2 c5. The fashion is for White to sacrifice a pawn with 7.d5, gaining active play. This idea has scored well for White,^[4] and new ideas have been cropping up into 2008.^[5] The 5.Qc2 lines had previously scored poorly for White according to Emms.^[2]

4…Bb7: the old main line

After 4…Bb7, the classical main line of the Queen’s Indian runs 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3. White has the freer game, but Black has no weaknesses and can choose from a variety of ways to create counterplay, such as 9…c5, 9…f5 or 9…Be4. These lines are well known for their drawish tendencies and 4…Bb7 is nowadays often employed by Black as a drawing weapon. Therefore White has tried various deviations from the main line in an attempt to unbalance the play. These include:

• 8.Bd2, which defends the knight on c3 and threatens a d4-d5 push.
• 7.d5!?, introduced by Arturo Pomar, and rejuvenated by Lev Polugaevsky’s continuation 7…exd5 8.Nh4! threatening to regain the pawn on d5 or to play Nf5.
• 6.Nc3, which postpones castling in favour of preparing action in the centre with the d4-d5 and e2-e4 thrusts.

Petrosian's 4.a3

4.a3, the Petrosian Variation, prepares 5.Nc3 without being harassed by ...Bb4 pinning the knight. See Gurevich (1992) for an extensive analysis. This variation was often used by Garry Kasparov early in his career.

4.Nc3

• 4...Bb4 transposes to the Nimzo-Indian. The position after 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Ne4 8.Qc2 was heavily played and analysed in the 1980s.
• 4...Bb7 5.a3 became the more common move order to reach the Petrosian system by the mid-1980s, where White has avoided 4....c5 5.d5 Ba6 and 4....Ba6.
• 4...Bb7 5.Bg5 is an older line which gives Black good equalising chances after 5....h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Nh5 8.e3 Nxg3 9.hxg3 Bg7.

Other Lines

• 4.e3, preparing to develop the king's bishop and castle kingside, was also a favorite of Tigran Petrosian. This apparently quiet development may lead to complex middlegame play.
• 4.Bf4 is the Miles Variation, which simply develops the bishop to a good square; despite some success by its originator, this idea has never been popular.

ECO codes

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings classifies the Queen's Indian under codes E12 to E19 according to the following scheme:

• E12 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6
• E13 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.Bg5
• E14 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.e3
• E15 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3
• E16 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7
• E17 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7
• E18 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3
• E19 - 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2

References

The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of Queen's Indian Defense

Further reading

• Soltis, Andrew (1981). Queen's Indian Defense. R.H.M. Press. ISBN 9780890580516. 
• Kallai, Gabor; Ribli, Zoltan (1987). Winning With the Queen's Indian. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780020298014. 
• Lalic, Bogdan (1997). The Queen's Indian Defence. Everyman Chess. ISBN 9781857441574. 
• Aagaard, Jacob (2002). Queen's Indian Defence. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1857443004.