Indian Defense: Czech-Indian
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c6
The Indian Defense: Czech-Indian is a chess opening classified as ECO A46, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c6. It is a line of the Indian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,287 times by this move order. White won 51%, 6% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3. Bf4 (26% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6)
- ECO
- A46
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp1ppppp/2p2n2/8/3P4/5N2/PPP1PPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 185 | |
| 1500-1999 | 735 | |
| 2000+ | 367 | |
| All | 1,287 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Bf4 | 336 (26%) | |
| 3. e3 | 263 (20%) | |
| 3. c4 | 247 (19%) | |
| 3. Bg5 | 125 (10%) | |
| 3. g3 | 111 (9%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 93 (7%) | |
| 3. c3 | 42 (3%) | |
| 3. Nbd2 | 23 (2%) |
Master games
347 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 20%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Daniil Dubov (2699) 0-1 · Chessable Masters GpA · 2020-06-20
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2794) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2737) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Winners 2024 · 2024-06-13
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2737) – GM Richard Rapport (2731) 0-1 · 9th Gashimov Mem Blitz · 2023-12-11
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2737) – GM Richard Rapport (2731) 1-0 · 9th Gashimov Mem Rapid · 2023-12-08
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2727) – GM Richard Rapport (2731) 1/2-1/2 · 9th Gashimov Mem Blitz · 2023-12-11
Search all games of the Indian Defense: Czech-Indian and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- bata_njaa (2710) – GM Ivan124 (2683) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- JSlaby83 (2521) – GM Ivan124 (2694) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- ISEECOMPENSATION (2619) – zloyRW (2480) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Indian Defense: Knights Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3
More Indian Defense lines (all)
- Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko A43
- Indian Defense (1. d4 Nf6) A45
- Indian Defense: Accelerated London System A45
- Indian Defense: Gedult Attack A45
- Indian Defense: Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit A45
- Indian Defense: Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit Accepted A45
- Indian Defense: Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit, Maltese Falcon A45
- Indian Defense: Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit, Oshima Defense A45
- Indian Defense: Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit, Stummer Gambit A45
- Indian Defense: Lazard Gambit A45
- Indian Defense: Maddigan Gambit A45
- Indian Defense: Omega Gambit A45
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.