Indian Defense: Knights Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
40,426,804 games: White 48.8% / Draw 6.2% / Black 45.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| East Indian Defense | 13,499,05113.5M | |
| 10,536,97710.5M | ||
| Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation | 8,959,1069M | |
| Indian Defense: Spielmann-Indian | 3,126,1753.1M | |
| Indian Defense: Wade-Tartakower Defense | 2,466,2712.5M | |
| Pseudo Queen's Indian Defense | 874,581875K | |
| Indian Defense: Czech-Indian | 468,830469K | |
| 236,250236K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 20, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6 7. Bg5
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 50% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 5.5M | |
| 1400–1799 | 13.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 24M | |
| 2200 and up | 8.1M | |
| Masters, over the board | 141K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
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: Knights Variation (ECO A46, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 (2 moves).
In 40,426,804 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.8%, Black 45.0% and 6.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…g6, in 33% of those games.
It branches into 12 named variations; the most played are East Indian Defense and Indian Defense: Wade-Tartakower Defense. In all, 38 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Indian Defense: Knights Variation
2…c5 (Indian Defense: Spielmann-Indian) scores best for Black: 50.7%, with Black winning 47.6% and White 46.2% of 3.1M games. The most played, 2…g6, scores 49.0% in 13.5M games, and 2…d5 scores lowest: 47.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…d5.
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: Knights Variation peaked in 2018 at 1.9% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 1.5% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.5% | 533,157 |
| 2017 | 1.7% | 937,545 |
| 2018 | 1.9% | 1,489,141 |
| 2019 | 1.8% | 2,204,708 |
| 2020 | 1.8% | 5,193,444 |
| 2021 | 1.5% | 5,771,425 |
| 2022 | 1.5% | 5,706,081 |
| 2023 | 1.5% | 5,710,848 |
| 2024 | 1.5% | 5,380,057 |
| 2025 | 1.5% | 5,204,785 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 1.5% | 1,650,711 |
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 (12)
- A46 Döry Defense 2…Ne4
- A48 East Indian Defense 2…g6
- A46 Czech-Indian 2…c6
- A46 Alburt-Miles Variation 2…a6
- A46 London System 2…e6 3. Bf4
- A46 Polish Variation 2…b5
- A46 Spielmann-Indian 2…c5
- A46 Wade-Tartakower Defense 2…d6
- A47 Pseudo Queen's Indian Defense 2…b6
- A46 Queen's Pawn Game: Veresov Attack, Classical Defense 2…e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5
- A46 Torre Attack: Classical Defense 2…e6 3. Bg5
- A46 Yusupov-Rubinstein System 2…e6 3. e3
Transpositions
All 38 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- A46 Döry Defense 2 moves
- A48 East Indian Defense 2 moves
- A46 Indian Defense: Czech-Indian 2 moves
- A46 Alburt-Miles Variation 2 moves
- A46 Indian Defense: London System 3 moves
- A46 Indian Defense: Polish Variation 2 moves
- A46 Indian Defense: Spielmann-Indian 2 moves
- A46 Indian Defense: Wade-Tartakower Defense 2 moves
- A47 Pseudo Queen's Indian Defense 2 moves
- A46 Queen's Pawn Game: Veresov Attack, Classical Defense 4 moves
- A46 Torre Attack: Classical Defense 3 moves
- A46 Yusupov-Rubinstein System 3 moves
- A43 Benoni Defense: Hawk Variation 3 moves
- A48 Indian Defense: Colle System, King's Indian Variation 4 moves
- A49 Indian Defense: Przepiorka Variation 3 moves
- A43 Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko 3 moves
- A47 Indian Defense: Schnepper Gambit 3 moves
- A48 London System 3 moves
- A47 Marienbad System 4 moves
- A47 Pseudo Queen's Indian Defense 6 moves
- A48 Queen's Pawn Game: Barry Attack 4 moves
- A46 Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack, Breyer Variation 5 moves
- A46 Nimzowitsch Variation 3 moves
- A46 Petrosian Gambit 5 moves
- A48 Torre Attack: Fianchetto Defense 3 moves
- A46 Torre Attack: Wagner Gambit 4 moves
- A48 London System 4 moves
- A47 Berg Variation 6 moves
- A48 Barry Attack 4 moves
- A48 Queen's Pawn Game: Torre Attack, Grünfeld Variation, Main Line 5 moves
- A48 Euwe Variation 4 moves
- A48 London System 4 moves
- A48 Grünfeld Variation 6 moves
- A48 Tarzan Attack 5 moves
- A48 with Bd3 5 moves
- A48 with Be2 5 moves
- A48 with Be2 6 moves
- A48 with Be2 5 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Indian Defense: Knights Variation (A46)”. Lichess data as of 20 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-knights-variation