Caissa Codex
A15

English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense

The Anglo-Indian Defense (1.c4 Nf6) is the most common reply to the English Opening. Read the guide

Chess diagram: English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense after 1…Nf6

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

21,186,654 games: White 49.3% / Draw 5.6% / Black 45.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Queen's Knight Variation 12,843,79312.8M
3,420,8573.4M
Indian Defense: Normal Variation 1,992,4622M
King's Knight Variation 1,201,3821.2M
877,165877K
343,280343K
276,119276K
65,31165K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.22 The position is about equal

Best play: 2. d4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6

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

By rating

The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 49% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 2M
1400–1799 7.8M
1800–2199 13.1M
2200 and up 3.1M
Masters, over the board 55K

Master games

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026

Description

The Anglo-Indian Defense (1.c4 Nf6) is the most common reply to the English Opening. Black develops a knight and keeps every option open, usually hoping to transpose to an Indian defence once White plays d4.

The idea

1...Nf6 waits for White to commit. If White avoids d4, Black often switches to a Symmetrical English with a later ...c5, or to a Reversed Sicilian with ...e5. The many transpositions make move orders important for both sides: Black cannot always reach the defence they want, and White can steer away from some of them.

Main lines

  • 2.Nc3, the Queen's Knight Variation:
    • 2...e6, the Hedgehog System in this database. 3.e4, the Mikėnas–Carls Variation, is an aggressive answer that stops Black from reaching a Queen's Gambit Declined; the most common continuation is 3...d5 4.e5, the Flohr Variation, usually followed by 4...d4 5.exf6 dxc3 6.bxc3 Qxf6;
    • 2...g6, where 3.d4 d5 gives a Grünfeld Defense, but 3.e4 rules the Grünfeld out and more or less forces Black into a King's Indian with 3...d6;
    • 2...d5, where White can avoid a Grünfeld with 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.g3, a line Mikhail Botvinnik played several times in his 1958 world championship match against Vasily Smyslov;
    • 2...c5 and 2...e5, transposing to the Symmetrical English and the Reversed Sicilian.
  • 2.Nf3, the King's Knight Variation, with set-ups such as 2...g6 (King's Indian Formation), 2...d5 (Scandinavian Defense) and 2...d6 (Old Indian Formation). White can also aim for a Réti Opening with g3 and Bg2.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • Maximum flexibility: Black can head for an Indian defence, a Symmetrical English or a Reversed Sicilian.
  • The most common reply to 1.c4, with natural development.

Weaknesses

  • White can use move orders to avoid Black's preferred defence, such as 3.e4 against the Grünfeld or the Queen's Gambit Declined.
  • Black needs to know several structures.

Who should play it

The Anglo-Indian suits Black players with an Indian repertoire against 1.d4 who want to keep it against 1.c4, and who are comfortable switching to English structures when White does not play d4.

The numbers

On Lichess White wins about 49% at every level: 48.9% against 47.3% under 1400, 49.1% against 46.7% at 1400–1799, 49.3% against 45.1% at 1800–2199 and 49.6% against 42.5% from 2200 up. In about 55,200 master games White won 35.4%, Black 21.2%, and 43.4% were drawn.

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How to play against the English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense

2. Nf3 (King's Knight Variation) scores best for White: 53.9%, with White winning 50.7% and Black 42.9% of 1.2M games. The most played, 2. Nc3, scores 52.4% in 12.8M games, and 2. d4 scores lowest: 49.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 2. d4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense peaked in 2019 at 0.98% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.79% in 2025.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.72%258,219
20170.85%466,499
20180.97%764,052
20190.98%1,224,185
20200.94%2,756,319
20210.81%3,170,937
20220.78%2,924,063
20230.77%2,905,356
20240.77%2,772,066
20250.79%2,734,248
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.8%873,270

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Variations (6)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 1…Nf6, the position after English Opening also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 36 named lines that continue from here

Sources

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense (A15)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-anglo-indian-defense

https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-anglo-indian-defense