Indian Defense: Reversed Chigorin Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5
The Indian Defense: Reversed Chigorin Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO A45, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5. 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 2,648 times by this move order. White won 47%, 5% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3. d5 (57% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.71 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 3. d5 e6 4. e4 d6 5. Nge2 a6)
- ECO
- A45
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp1ppppp/5n2/2p5/3P4/2N5/PPP1PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 344 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,306 | |
| 2000+ | 998 | |
| All | 2,648 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d5 | 1,503 (57%) | |
| 3. dxc5 | 379 (14%) | |
| 3. Bf4 | 265 (10%) | |
| 3. e4 | 171 (6%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 128 (5%) | |
| 3. e3 | 95 (4%) | |
| 3. Bg5 | 80 (3%) | |
| 3. f3 | 14 (1%) |
Master games
946 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 13%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2727) – GM Javokhir Sindarov (2701) 1-0 · World Blitz 2023 · 2023-12-29
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 1/2-1/2 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
- GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
Search all games of the Indian Defense: Reversed Chigorin Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM stanbad1 (2704) – madcap_tr (2680) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Obsidian_destroyer (2463) – Mfbestadclol (2785) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- ana_7azeen (2507) – FM Superfm1 (2635) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Indian Defense (1. d4 Nf6) 1. d4 Nf6
More Indian Defense lines (all)
- Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko A43
- 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
- Indian Defense: Omega Gambit, Arafat 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.