Caissa Codex
A50

Indian Defense: Normal Variation

Chess diagram: Indian Defense: Normal Variation after 2. c4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

85,459,347 games: White 48.1% / Draw 5.5% / Black 46.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
29,798,46429.8M
26,605,29626.6M
Benoni Defense 9,718,8059.7M
Indian Defense: Budapest Defense 7,516,5507.5M
Queen's Gambit Declined: Marshall Defense 4,720,3974.7M
Old Indian Defense 4,012,9834M
Slav Indian 1,489,8051.5M
Queen's Indian Accelerated 711,589712K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.23 The position is about equal

Best play: 2... e6 3. Nf3 d5 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 52% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 55% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 7.9M
1400–1799 32.7M
1800–2199 50.9M
2200 and up 13.8M
Masters, over the board 457K

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 26, 2026

Overview

Indian Defense: Normal Variation (ECO A50, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 (2 moves).

In 85,459,347 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.1%, Black 46.4% and 5.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…e6, in 35% of those games.

It branches into 13 named variations; the most played are Benoni Defense and Indian Defense: Budapest Defense. In all, 95 named lines continue from it.

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How to play against the Indian Defense: Normal Variation

2…c5 (Benoni Defense) scores best for Black: 52.0%, with Black winning 49.2% and White 45.2% of 9.7M games. The most played, 2…e6, scores 48.4% in 29.8M games, and 2…d5 scores lowest: 44.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…e6.

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: Normal Variation peaked in 2018 at 4.3% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 3.0% in 2025.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20163.6%1,289,055
20173.9%2,150,489
20184.3%3,394,359
20194.0%5,010,912
20203.7%10,943,822
20213.2%12,540,373
20223.2%12,048,852
20233.2%11,865,290
20243.0%10,932,705
20253.0%10,472,283
2026 (Jan–Apr)3.1%3,360,065

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 (13)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. c4, the position after Indian Defense also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 95 named lines that continue from here

Loading sub-variations…

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Indian Defense: Normal Variation (A50)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-normal-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-normal-variation