Indian Defense: Accelerated London System
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
25,351,337 games: White 48.2% / Draw 5.2% / Black 46.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 6,481,4206.5M | ||
| 5,735,2405.7M | ||
| 5,468,8235.5M | ||
| 3,725,4973.7M | ||
| 2,508,8262.5M | ||
| 436,305436K | ||
| 366,953367K | ||
| 186,560187K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 7, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.15 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... g6 3. c4 c5 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Qxd4 d6 6. Qd2 Nc6 7. e4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 6.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 14.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 14.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 2.3M | |
| Masters, over the board | 8,279 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Carlsen, M. – So, W.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- 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
Indian Defense: Accelerated London System (ECO A45, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 (2 moves).
In 25,351,337 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.2%, Black 46.6% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…g6, in 26% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Indian Defense: Accelerated London System
2…c5 scores best for Black: 52.9%, with Black winning 50.1% and White 44.3% of 2.5M games. The most played, 2…g6, scores 49.5% in 6.5M games, and 2…e6 scores lowest: 48.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…g6.
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 Indian Defense: Accelerated London System is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.99% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.39%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.39% | 140,052 |
| 2017 | 0.67% | 368,838 |
| 2018 | 0.9% | 703,440 |
| 2019 | 0.94% | 1,171,671 |
| 2020 | 1.1% | 3,149,495 |
| 2021 | 1.0% | 3,987,175 |
| 2022 | 1.0% | 3,762,708 |
| 2023 | 1% | 3,744,808 |
| 2024 | 0.97% | 3,480,613 |
| 2025 | 0.99% | 3,422,826 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.99% | 1,089,612 |
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. “Indian Defense: Accelerated London System (A45)”. Lichess data as of 7 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-accelerated-london-system