Caissa Codex
A16

English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation 4. Nf3 g6

Chess diagram: English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation after 4…g6

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Statistics from Lichess

126,598 games: White 48.5% / Draw 8.9% / Black 42.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
40,66841K
32,59233K
10,69111K
10,55011K
10,11610K
10,02810K
4,6794,679
3,6293,629

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.37 White is slightly better

Best play: 5. h4 Bg7 6. h5 Nc6 7. g3 O-O 8. Bg2 Nxc3 9. bxc3 e5

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

Overview

English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation (ECO A16, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation, reached after 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. Nf3 g6 (4 moves).

In 126,598 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.5%, Black 42.6% and 8.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. g3, in 32% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, English Opening: Anglo-Grünfeld Defense, Korchnoi Variation.

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How to answer 4…g6

5. Qb3 scores best for White: 57.8%, with White winning 54.3% and Black 38.7% of 10K games. The most played, 5. g3, scores 50.7% in 41K games, and 5. d4 scores lowest: 47.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. h4.

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

Variations (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…g6, the position after English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anglo-Grünfeld Variation (A16)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-anglo-indian-defense-anglo-grunfeld-variation-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-anglo-indian-defense-anglo-grunfeld-variation-2