English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld
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Statistics from Lichess
478,529 games: White 52.2% / Draw 6.8% / Black 41.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 339,279339K | ||
| 112,816113K | ||
| 10,70011K | ||
| 6,5106,510 | ||
| 4,0234,023 | ||
| 1,8391,839 | ||
| 1,3011,301 | ||
| 959959 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 26, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.46 White is slightly better
Best play: 4... d6 5. Be2 e5 6. d4 O-O 7. O-O h6 8. Re1 Nbd7 9. Qc2
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 better this line does for White: White scores 51% under 1400, 56% at 2200 and up and 59% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 24K | |
| 1400–1799 | 66K | |
| 1800–2199 | 208K | |
| 2200 and up | 228K | |
| Masters, over the board | 9,625 |
Master games
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Rapport, R. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Grischuk, A.
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 27, 2026
Overview
English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld (ECO A15, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Knight Variation, reached after 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e4 (4 moves).
In 478,529 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.2%, Black 41.0% and 6.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…d6, in 71% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld
4…O-O scores best for Black: 45.0%, with Black winning 41.7% and White 51.6% of 113K games. The most played answer, 4…d6, scores lowest: 44.1% in 339K games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…d6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld peaked in 2018 at 0.026% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.018% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.02% | 7,164 |
| 2017 | 0.021% | 11,685 |
| 2018 | 0.026% | 20,622 |
| 2019 | 0.025% | 31,346 |
| 2020 | 0.023% | 66,045 |
| 2021 | 0.018% | 69,837 |
| 2022 | 0.016% | 61,233 |
| 2023 | 0.016% | 60,187 |
| 2024 | 0.017% | 60,809 |
| 2025 | 0.018% | 61,141 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.019% | 20,375 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld (A15)”. Lichess data as of 26 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-anglo-indian-defense-anti-anti-grunfeld