A46

Indian Defense: Czech-Indian

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Statistics from Lichess

587,056 games: White 50.9% / Draw 5.6% / Black 43.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	156,747157K
	133,616134K
	95,53196K
	67,94568K
	55,91656K
	28,62429K
	21,77322K
	11,13711K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 4, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.24 The position is about equal

Best play: 3. c4 d5 4. e3 e6 5. b3 c5 6. Bb2 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nc6

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 47% under 1400, 45% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	107K
1400–1799	231K
1800–2199	375K
2200 and up	72K
Masters, over the board	455

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 27, 2026

Overview

Indian Defense: Czech-Indian (ECO A46, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense: Knights Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c6 (2 moves).

In 587,056 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.9%, Black 43.5% and 5.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. c4, in 27% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Indian Defense: Czech-Indian

3. g3 scores best for White: 55.0%, with White winning 52.0% and Black 41.9% of 68K games. The most played, 3. c4, scores 54.9% in 157K games, and 3. e3 scores lowest: 51.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. c4.

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 Indian Defense: Czech-Indian has gained ground since 2016: 0.023% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.019%.

0.019%0.023%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.019%	6,744
2017	0.021%	11,608
2018	0.023%	18,289
2019	0.022%	27,194
2020	0.022%	65,792
2021	0.021%	80,522
2022	0.023%	86,772
2023	0.024%	88,446
2024	0.024%	85,796
2025	0.023%	80,354
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.024%	26,156

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: Czech-Indian (A46)”. Lichess data as of 4 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-czech-indian