A50

Slav Indian

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Statistics from Lichess

1,807,904 games: White 50.4% / Draw 5.3% / Black 44.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	1,369,4691.4M
	278,725279K
	52,41652K
	30,66731K
	26,12526K
	16,23116K
	10,38010K
	5,4435,443

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 3. e3 d5 4. Nf3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6

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% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	271K
1400–1799	856K
1800–2199	1.1M
2200 and up	196K
Masters, over the board	4,695

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

Slav Indian (ECO A50, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 (2 moves).

In 1,807,904 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 44.3% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. Nc3, in 76% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Slav Indian

3. Nf3 scores best for White: 53.7%, with White winning 50.7% and Black 43.3% of 279K games. The most played answer, 3. Nc3, scores lowest: 53.1% in 1.4M games. Stockfish's first choice is 3. e3.

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 Slav Indian has stayed between 0.063% and 0.075% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.072% in 2025).

0.063%0.072%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.063%	22,375
2017	0.063%	34,668
2018	0.075%	58,871
2019	0.072%	89,287
2020	0.07%	205,668
2021	0.065%	252,745
2022	0.068%	255,409
2023	0.07%	262,967
2024	0.072%	258,564
2025	0.072%	250,534
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.078%	85,458

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. “Slav Indian (A50)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/slav-indian