From Mark Weeks,
Your Guide to Chess.
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The position in the diagram, known as the Queen's Indian Defense, shows the board after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 (ECO E12-19). Its theme is based on White's desire to play e2-e4. Since 3.Nf3 did nothing to prepare that move, Black prepares the fianchetto of the Bishop Bc8-b7, taking aim at the e4 square.

The Queen's Indian once had a reputation as a drawish opening. Bobby Fischer never played it, preferring moves other than 3...b6 as Black. Since the 1970s, it has been explored and analyzed by many of the world's top players, who have found that it offers Black as many opportunities as other, sharper openings.

White has several good moves to play against it.

• 4.g3, the Rubinstein Variation, can be followed by 4...Ba6, 4...Bb7, or 4...Bb4+.
  
  
• 4.Nc3, is a chameleon move. When followed by 4...Bb7, it is considered a Queen's Indian. When followed by 4...Bb4, it is considered a Nimzo Indian, unless the game continues 5.Bg5 Bb7 (or 5...h6 6.Bh4 Bb7) or 5.e3 Bb7, when it is again a Queen's Indian.
  
  
• 4.a3, the Petrosian Variation, may look like a waste of time, but is a subtle positional move.
  
  
• 4.e3, avoiding an immediate fight for e4, is the most modest continuation.
  
  
• Less frequently played are 4.Bf4 and 4.Bg5.
  
  

An opening related to the Queen's Indian starts with 3...Bb4+ and is known as the Bogo-Indian or Bogoljubow Variation (ECO E11).