English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Indian Formation
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Statistics from Lichess
2,214,943 games: White 49.7% / Draw 6.9% / Black 43.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 945,922946K | ||
| 526,815527K | ||
| King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation | 372,574373K | |
| 195,473195K | ||
| English Orangutan | 85,48285K | |
| 59,83160K | ||
| 18,06318K | ||
| 3,4573,457 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.40 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. h4 Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qxd1+
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 51% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 68K | |
| 1400–1799 | 342K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 777K | |
| Masters, over the board | 32K |
Master games
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
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
Overview
English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Indian Formation (ECO A15, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Knight Variation, reached after 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 (2 moves).
In 2,214,943 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.7%, Black 43.4% and 6.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Nc3, in 43% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Duchamp Variation and English Orangutan.
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, King's Indian Formation
The most played answer, 3. Nc3, also scores best for White: 53.9%, with White winning 50.4% and Black 42.6% of 946K games. Of the main answers, 3. d4 scores lowest: 51.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. Nc3.
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, King's Indian Formation peaked in 2018 at 0.12% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.081% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.084% | 30,038 |
| 2017 | 0.1% | 54,771 |
| 2018 | 0.12% | 97,411 |
| 2019 | 0.12% | 144,939 |
| 2020 | 0.1% | 306,850 |
| 2021 | 0.081% | 317,794 |
| 2022 | 0.076% | 286,108 |
| 2023 | 0.076% | 284,912 |
| 2024 | 0.078% | 278,236 |
| 2025 | 0.081% | 282,114 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.086% | 94,453 |
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 (5)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Indian Formation (A15)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-anglo-indian-defense-kings-indian-formation