Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nc3
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 c6
The Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nc3 is a chess opening classified as ECO A53, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 c6. It is a line of the Old Indian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,110 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4. e4 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.74 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 4. e4 g6 5. Be2 Bg7 6. Nf3 O-O)
- ECO
- A53
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/2pp1n2/8/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 c6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 172 | |
| 1500-1999 | 735 | |
| 2000+ | 203 | |
| All | 1,110 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. e4 | 586 (53%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 276 (25%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 99 (9%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 45 (4%) | |
| 4. e3 | 38 (3%) | |
| 4. g3 | 23 (2%) | |
| 4. h3 | 12 (1%) | |
| 4. f3 | 11 (1%) |
Master games
116 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 25%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- IM Abtin Atakhan (2416) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2757) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 1st Apr Early · 2025-04-01
- GM Alexander Zubov (2597) – GM Marat Makarov (2505) 1-0 · World Rapid 2018 · 2018-12-26
- GM David Paravyan (2597) – IM Reza Mahdavi (2485) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-04
- IM Leonardo Tristan (2509) – IM Cristian Dolezal (2414) 1-0 · 94th ch-ARG 2019 · 2019-09-18
- IM Maksim Tsaruk (2484) – GM Maksat Atabayev (2400) 1-0 · MSU Cup 2024 · 2024-04-25
Search all games of the Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nc3 and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MIGV (2611) – keytogo1 (2643) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- MrTP2007 (2474) – Fed67 (2435) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- blackswan_97 (2432) – Fed67 (2443) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Old Indian Defense (2. c4 d6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6
More Old Indian Defense lines (all)
- Old Indian Defense (1… d6 2. c4) A41
- Old Indian Defense: Aged Gibbon Gambit A53
- Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nf3 A53
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation A53
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Fianchetto Variation A53
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Grinberg Gambit A53
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Main Line A53
- Old Indian Defense: Duz-Khotimirsky Variation A54
- Old Indian Defense: Tartakower-Indian A54
- Old Indian Defense: Two Knights Variation A54
- Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation A54
- Old Indian Defense: Normal Variation A55
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.