Old Indian Defense 2. c4 d6
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Statistics from Lichess
7,169,806 games: White 48.4% / Draw 5.1% / Black 46.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 5,583,7885.6M | ||
| 965,031965K | ||
| 214,951215K | ||
| 122,507123K | ||
| 105,722106K | ||
| 44,04144K | ||
| 36,66137K | ||
| 21,59722K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.58 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. Nc3 g6 4. e4 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 c5 7. d5 e6
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 49% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 4.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 755K | |
| Masters, over the board | 10K |
Master games
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Giri, A. – Kramnik, V.
- Karpov, A. – Salov, V.
- Dubov, D. – Karjakin, S.
- Caruana, F. – McShane, L. J.
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
Old Indian Defense (ECO A53, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 (2 moves).
In 7,169,806 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.4%, Black 46.5% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Nc3, in 78% of those games.
It branches into 7 named variations; the most played are Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nc3 and Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation. In all, 12 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 answer 2…d6
3. Nf3 scores best for White: 52.0%, with White winning 49.1% and Black 45.2% of 965K games. The most played answer, 3. Nc3, scores lowest: 51.0% in 5.6M games. Stockfish's first choice is 3. Nc3.
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
This line has stayed between 0.26% and 0.29% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.29% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.26% | 91,145 |
| 2017 | 0.28% | 151,631 |
| 2018 | 0.29% | 227,045 |
| 2019 | 0.28% | 346,268 |
| 2020 | 0.26% | 775,502 |
| 2021 | 0.26% | 1,005,714 |
| 2022 | 0.28% | 1,044,677 |
| 2023 | 0.28% | 1,047,384 |
| 2024 | 0.28% | 1,011,461 |
| 2025 | 0.29% | 1,006,362 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.3% | 333,116 |
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 (7)
Transpositions
All 12 named lines that continue from here
- A53 Aged Gibbon Gambit 3 moves
- A53 Czech Variation, with Nc3 3 moves
- A53 Czech Variation, with Nf3 3 moves
- A53 Janowski Variation 3 moves
- A55 Normal Variation 5 moves
- A54 Tartakower-Indian 3 moves
- A54 Ukrainian Variation 3 moves
- A54 Old Indian Defense: Duz-Khotimirsky Variation 5 moves
- A53 Fianchetto Variation 4 moves
- A53 Grinberg Gambit 4 moves
- A53 Main Line 4 moves
- A54 Old Indian Defense: Two Knights Variation 4 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Old Indian Defense (A53)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/old-indian-defense-2