Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nf3
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 c6
The Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nf3 is a chess opening classified as ECO A53, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 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 169 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nc3 (53% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.59 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Bf4 Nc6)
- ECO
- A53
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp2pppp/2pp1n2/8/2PP4/5N2/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 c6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 33 | |
| 1500-1999 | 87 | |
| 2000+ | 49 | |
| All | 169 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nc3 | 90 (53%) | |
| 4. g3 | 34 (20%) | |
| 4. e3 | 19 (11%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 16 (9%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 5 (3%) | |
| 4. b3 | 2 (1%) | |
| 4. Nbd2 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4. h3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
92 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 27%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- GM Sabino Brunello (2602) – GM Baadur Jobava (2710) 1-0 · Tata Steel Challengers · 2014-01-21
- IM Bart Michiels (2506) – GM Baadur Jobava (2695) 1/2-1/2 · 19th European Teams · 2013-11-08
- GM Alexey Sarana (2670) – IM Pranav Anand (2467) 1-0 · Titled Tue 14th Jun Early · 2022-06-14
- GM Pentala Harikrishna (2726) – IM Zahari Zahariev (2404) 1-0 · 42nd TCh-GRE 2014 · 2014-07-03
- GM Alexei Gavrilov (2456) – GM Michal Krasenkow (2638) 1-0 · Moscow Open A 2014 · 2014-02-03
Search all games of the Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nf3 and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM AtalikS (2668) – ManulPalace (2517) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- fyltdy (2442) – A0815 (2386) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Field6820 (2402) – Fed67 (2423) 1/2-1/2 · 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 Nc3 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.