Indian Defense (1. d4 Nf6)
1. d4 Nf6
The Indian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO A45, reached after 1. d4 Nf6. White is to move. 15 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 589,974 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 2. c4 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4)
- ECO
- A45
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/5n2/8/3P4/8/PPP1PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. d4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 122,703 | |
| 1500-1999 | 299,597 | |
| 2000+ | 167,674 | |
| All | 589,974 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. c4 Normal Variation | 226,234 (38%) | |
| 2. Nf3 Knights Variation | 107,382 (18%) | |
| 2. Bf4 Accelerated London System | 101,630 (17%) | |
| 2. Nc3 | 59,843 (10%) | |
| 2. e3 | 37,312 (6%) | |
| 2. Bg5 Trompowsky Attack | 24,482 (4%) | |
| 2. c3 | 6,550 (1%) | |
| 2. f3 Paleface Attack | 5,693 (1%) |
Master games
10,809 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 12%, Black 44%). The strongest:
- ScorpioNN 3.0.11 (3496) – KomodoDragon 2647.00 (3522) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-13
- KomodoDragon 2647.00 (3522) – ScorpioNN 3.0.11 (3496) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-11
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2776) 1-0 · Titled Tue 26th Aug Late · 2025-08-26
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 1-0 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-19
- GM Levon Aronian (2782) – GM Liren Ding (2799) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 2021 · 2021-12-06
Search all games of the Indian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM gmbrewchess (2973) – Nana_jede_cevape (2893) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2853) – GM gmbrewchess (2988) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- GM cutemouse83 (2940) – FM Guary1 (2901) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Continuations
- Basque Opening A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. b3
- Canard Opening A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. f4
- Indian Defense: Accelerated London System A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4
- Indian Defense: Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. g4
- Indian Defense: Knights Variation A46 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3
- Indian Defense: Normal Variation A50 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
- Indian Defense: Omega Gambit A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. e4
- Indian Defense: Pawn Push Variation A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. d5
- Indian Defense: Tartakower Attack A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. g3
- Paleface Attack A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. f3
- Trompowsky Attack A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5
- Indian Defense: Lazard Gambit A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nd2 e5
- Indian Defense: Maddigan Gambit A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5
- Indian Defense: Reversed Chigorin Defense A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5
- Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation (2. Nc3 d5) A45 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5
More Indian Defense lines (all)
- Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko A43
- Indian Defense: Gedult Attack 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: Omega Gambit, Arafat Gambit A45
- Indian Defense: Paleface Attack, Blackmar-Diemer Gambit Deferred A45
- Indian Defense: Czech-Indian A46
- Indian Defense: Knights Variation, Alburt-Miles Variation A46
- Indian Defense: London System A46
- Indian Defense: Polish Variation A46
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.