Old Indian Defense
The Old Indian Defense (1.d4 d6 2.c4) can continue with ...Nf6, reaching the standard Old Indian position 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6. Read the guide
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
9,494,258 games: White 48.4% / Draw 5.1% / Black 46.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Old Indian Defense | 3,159,1333.2M | |
| 1,603,6791.6M | ||
| Rat Defense: English Rat | 1,342,3681.3M | |
| Queen's Pawn Game: Anglo-Slav Opening | 987,871988K | |
| 716,899717K | ||
| 638,697639K | ||
| 160,761161K | ||
| 151,165151K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.30 White is slightly better
Best play: 2... e5 3. e3 f5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nh3 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O
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 White: White scores 54% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.2M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 5.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 914K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,499 |
Master games
- Dreev, A. – Aronian, L.
- Le Quang Liem – Ivanchuk, V.
- Fedoseev, V. – Mamedov, R.
- Dreev, A. – Svidler, P.
- Karpov, A. – Anand, V.
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
Description
The Old Indian Defense (1.d4 d6 2.c4) can continue with ...Nf6, reaching the standard Old Indian position 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6. Unlike in the King's Indian Defense, Black develops the king's bishop to e7 rather than fianchettoing it on g7.
Origins
Mikhail Chigorin pioneered the defence late in his career. It is considered sound, though developing the bishop on e7 is less active than the fianchetto on g7, and it has never reached the popularity of the King's Indian. Some King's Indian players use it to avoid particular anti-King's Indian systems, such as the Sämisch and Averbakh Variations.
The idea
Black builds a solid centre with ...d6 and ...e5, supported by ...Nbd7, and develops the bishop to e7. If White exchanges on e5 and trades queens, Black's king is displaced but the position is solid, with equal space and good piece coordination.
Main lines
After 2...Nf6 the main lines are:
- 3.Nc3 e5, the Ukrainian Variation, the main line: 4.Nf3 (Two Knights Variation) Nbd7 5.e4, and after 5...Be7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O c6 8.Re1 White stands slightly better. 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 does not seem to give White an advantage.
- 3.Nc3 Bf5, the Janowski Variation, introduced by Dawid Janowski in the 1920s to stop 4.e4. It became popular only in the 1980s, and Mikhail Tal, Bent Larsen, Florin Gheorghiu and Kamran Shirazi have all used it.
- 3.Nc3 c6, the Czech Variation.
- 3.Nf3, when 3...Bg4 is the Tartakower-Indian, 3...g6 usually transposes to the King's Indian, and 3...Nbd7 4.Nc3 to the main line.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Considered sound, with a clear plan based on ...e5.
- A way for King's Indian players to avoid the Sämisch and Averbakh systems.
Weaknesses
- The bishop on e7 is less active than the fianchettoed bishop of the King's Indian.
- In the main line White keeps a slight advantage.
Who should play it
The Old Indian suits Black players who like solid positions with ...d6 and ...e5, and King's Indian players looking for an alternative against particular White set-ups.
The numbers
On Lichess White leads below 1800, 51.6% against 44.4% under 1400 and 50.4% against 45.5% at 1400–1799. From 1800 the results are close: 47.9% against 47.0% at 1800–2199 and 47.1% against 45.7% from 2200 up. In about 6,500 master games White won 30.2%, Black 34.5%, and 35.3% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to answer 2. c4
2…e5 (Rat Defense: English Rat) scores best for Black: 52.9%, with Black winning 49.4% and White 43.6% of 1.3M games. The most played, 2…Nf6, scores 49.2% in 3.2M games, and 2…e6 scores lowest: 44.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2…e5.
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 Old Indian Defense has stayed between 0.34% and 0.42% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.37% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.4% | 142,289 |
| 2017 | 0.41% | 225,371 |
| 2018 | 0.42% | 327,823 |
| 2019 | 0.39% | 489,009 |
| 2020 | 0.36% | 1,052,186 |
| 2021 | 0.34% | 1,337,417 |
| 2022 | 0.37% | 1,381,401 |
| 2023 | 0.37% | 1,372,688 |
| 2024 | 0.36% | 1,294,954 |
| 2025 | 0.37% | 1,275,516 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.39% | 424,075 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
All 3 named lines that continue from here
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Old Indian Defense, version of 27 May 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Old Indian Defense (A41)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/old-indian-defense