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Bogo-Indian Defense (E11)
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Bb4+

Number of games in database: 13097
Years covered: 1883 to 2025
Overall record:
   White wins 36.6%
   Black wins 23.0%
   Draws 40.3%

Popularity graph, by decade

Explore this opening  |  Search for sacrifices in this opening.
PRACTITIONERS
With the White Pieces With the Black Pieces
Ivan Farago  89 games
Pia Cramling  59 games
Zdenko Kozul  44 games
Ulf Andersson  123 games
Viktor Korchnoi  76 games
Bojan Kurajica  75 games
NOTABLE GAMES [what is this?]
White Wins Black Wins
Kasparov vs Petrosian, 1982
Alekhine vs C H Alexander, 1936
Kasparov vs A Yusupov, 1981
G Andruet vs Spassky, 1988
Vidmar vs A Nimzowitsch, 1927
A Bisguier vs A Matanovic, 1961
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 page 1 of 524; games 1-25 of 13,097 
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Mackenzie vs J Noa  1-0521883LondonE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
2. Rubinstein vs Bogoljubov ½-½731920Bogoljubov - RubinsteinE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
3. J A Brekke vs S J Bjurulf  ½-½441920Gothenburg CE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
4. Bogoljubov vs A Selezniev 1-0621920GothenburgE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
5. Gruenfeld vs Saemisch  ½-½261920Gothenburg BE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
6. Alekhine vs Bogoljubov 1-0301921BudapestE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
7. P Johner vs Gruenfeld  ½-½241922Bad PistyanE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
8. V Vukovic vs Kmoch 1-0281922ViennaE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
9. Bogoljubov vs M Walter 1-0501923Maehrisch-OstrauE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
10. A Pokorny vs Lasker 0-1471923Maehrisch-OstrauE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
11. F Apsenieks vs H Mattison  0-16019241st Latvian congressE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
12. Kupchik vs Bogoljubov 1-0501924Bogoljubov - KupchikE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
13. H Wagner vs A Becker ½-½261924Becker - WagnerE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
14. D Reca vs H Mattison ½-½691924Paris Unofficial OlympiadE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
15. F Jonet vs H Mattison  0-1361924Paris Unofficial OlympiadE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
16. Colle vs F Apsenieks  ½-½411924Paris Unofficial OlympiadE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
17. Levenfish vs N Zubarev ½-½461925USSR ChampionshipE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
18. W Michel vs A Aurbach  ½-½331925BernE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
19. K Skalicka vs H Mattison  ½-½431925Bromley Premier-A FinalE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
20. Saemisch vs Bogoljubov 1-0541925Baden-BadenE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
21. Colle vs Saemisch  0-1571925Baden-BadenE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
22. Gruenfeld vs Bogoljubov 0-1241925BreslauE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
23. P Johner vs H Mattison 0-1351925DebrecenE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
24. D Przepiorka vs L Prokes  ½-½321925DebrecenE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
25. A Vajda vs L Prokes ½-½231925DebrecenE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
 page 1 of 524; games 1-25 of 13,097 
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-09-03  PVS: Ulf Andersson played the Bogo-Indian Defence as black almost one hundred times in this database (I found a few duplicated games). His score against Karpov is =2-6, (but then his overall score against Karpov is abysmal). Against everyone else, he is about even, I think that is excellent for a so-called drawing master playing the black pieces. Please pardon the temporary mess that I made of the recent kibitzing page. I am doing my part to make the database squeaky clean.
May-27-04  refutor: does anyone here play the bogo-indian v. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3? I'm thinking about playing it instead of the QID (hoping for 3. ...Bb4+ 4.Nc3 to get back into a nimzo)? anyone care to do a little bit of analysis of what it's strengths/weaknesses are compared to the QID?
May-27-04  Dudley: I assume you also play the Nimzo and the Bogo is more thematically similar to to Nimzo than the QID, and can even transposed into it. This would be my choice as well if I was a regular Nimzo player
Jul-30-04  atripodi: I think I may have found an improvement on a line in NCO and was wondering if any good players could help me with it. Burgess gives 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 b6 5.a3 Bxd2 6.Bxd2 Bb7 7.Bg5 d6 8.e3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 h5 12.h4 g4 as with compensation for the hanging pawn on g2. My idea was 11...g4, since the pawn still being on h6 disallows the knights moving to g5, which Burgess recommends for white in his line. Instead it looks like the knight goes to d2. After 11.Bg3 g4 12.Nd2 Bxg2 13.Rg1 Bb7. Here it seems white has a free tempo, but he still has to contend with the threat of the bishop trap after h5. Black will try for a knight on e4, hopefully trading it for a bishop, getting rid of the pair, with a comfortable game a pawn up. Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this or why it's worse than Burgess' line in NCO? Also, are there any games with it?
Jul-30-04  Helloween: atripodi> The move 11...g4 is simply ineffective in these types of positions, since White can simply play 12.Nh4, defending the pawn at g2. In this case White has the positional trumps of better pawn structure and piece activity than Black, and he doesn't have to lose the pawn on g2 to compensate for this. In the game:

Lieb - U. Krause
Germany 2002
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ 3.Nd2 b6 4.a3 Bxd2+ 5.Bxd2 Bb7 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Bg5 d6 8.e3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 g4?!, play continued 12.Nh4 Rg8 13.Qc2 Qe7 14.0-0-0 0-0-0 15.e4, and White held a solid advantage. He went on to win the exchange at move 28, blundered it back 9 moves later, and finally won on move 74. But verily, White's space advantage and the safety of his King on the Queenside guaranteed him the better game out of the opening.

Apr-13-07  gambitfan: OPOD Fri 13/04/2007
Opening of the Day
Sep-22-07  get Reti: I'm starting to like the Bogo-Indian exchange because instead of the white bishop actively placed at g5 and the black bishop passively played at e7, like in the QGD, both bishops are just gone. This also makes room for the queen at e7
Feb-14-08  paladin at large: It says a lot about the flexibility of this defense if players as varied as Ulf Andersson and Viktor Korchnoi are attracted to it.
Nov-30-08  paladin at large: A reliable drawing weapon? Keres would have laughed at that: According to this database, early in his career he won six straight on the black side, then drew two. I guess he didn't like having a draw, so he only played the white side thereafter. Later in his career on the white side he won five straight and drew a short one. Totals 11+ 0- 3=
Jun-16-09  WhiteRook48: the Bogo-Indian is my new favorite. Feinting with a Nimzo-Indian and then playing 3 Nf3 is really psychological
Sep-27-11  wordfunph: according to Steffen Pedersen's The Gambit Guide to the Bogo-Indian..

<This variation has a rather dull reputation. The line is a long-time favorite of Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson, and he has become famous for his immense number of draws in this line. I think he draws around 75% of his games. All in all, 4...Bxd2+ is not a line to choose in a must-win situation.>

accordingly, 4...Be7 is a solid setup for black.

Jul-05-12  Tigranny: I think I like this more than my previous favorite, the Old Indian.
Jul-05-12  SimonWebbsTiger: @<Tigranny>

bit of a shame when they play 3. Nc3 then

Aug-04-12  Tigranny: <SimonWebbsTiger>. I like the Nimzo-Indian too, actually my second favorite Indian system.
Apr-26-14  Mating Net: I find the the comment from <get Reti><I'm starting to like the Bogo-Indian exchange because instead of the white bishop actively placed at g5 and the black bishop passively played at e7, like in the QGD, both bishops are just gone. This also makes room for the queen at e7> quite accurate indeed. The dark squared Bishop exchange, while not aggressive, favors Black and helps Black solve his opening troubles quickly and efficiently. White frequently over extends because it is not easy to generate an initiative against this line of the Bogo-Indian.
Dec-22-15  CountryGirl: The leading exponents of the Bogo - going by this page - are Andersson, Korchnoi and the late Ratmir Kholmov. They each have a slightly negative score. The overall statistic for all Black players seems to be 43%, a number that is remarkably consistent over time. If you want a solid, easy to learn defence - and are not greatly ambitious - then the Bogo fits the bill!
Dec-01-16  Monocle: Could someone explain to me, what is the advantage of the Bogo over the Old Indian, where you get the same pawn structure without having to learn the Nimzo as well?

I'm thinking of playing the Bogo along with similar Nimzo lines such as the Zurich, but I'm wondering if it's worth going to all that effort if I can just play the Old Indian instead.

Dec-01-16  TheFocus: <Monocle: Could someone explain to me, what is the advantage of the Bogo over the Old Indian, where you get the same pawn structure without having to learn the Nimzo as well?>

I don't think you mean the Old Indian here - the Pawn structure is not the same.

Old Indian ...d6; Bogo ...e6.

Dec-01-16  Monocle: <TheFocus: <Monocle: Could someone explain to me, what is the advantage of the Bogo over the Old Indian, where you get the same pawn structure without having to learn the Nimzo as well?>

I don't think you mean the Old Indian here - the Pawn structure is not the same.

Old Indian ...d6; Bogo ...e6.>

The pawn doesn't stay on e6 forever. Generally in the Bogo Indian, black puts pawns on d6 and e5, the same as in the Old Indian.

Dec-01-16  TheFocus: <Monocle> I see your point.

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