Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Main Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. f3
The Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Main Line is a chess opening classified as ECO A53, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. f3. It is a line of the Old Indian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 112 times by this move order. White won 54%, 5% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 4… e5 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.54 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 4… e5 5. e4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Nc6 7. Qd1)
- ECO
- A53
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p1n2/5b2/2PP4/2N2P2/PP2P1PP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. f3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7 | |
| 1500-1999 | 74 | |
| 2000+ | 31 | |
| All | 112 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… e5 | 32 (29%) | |
| 4… Nbd7 | 28 (25%) | |
| 4… e6 | 17 (15%) | |
| 4… h6 | 15 (13%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 8 (7%) | |
| 4… Bg6 | 4 (4%) | |
| 4… g6 | 3 (3%) | |
| 4… h5 | 3 (3%) |
Master games
149 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 30%, draw 33%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- GM Daniil Dubov (2699) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2752) 1-0 · Lindores Abbey Final 8 · 2020-05-27
- GM Nikita Vitiugov (2726) – GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2667) 1/2-1/2 · European Blitz 2016 · 2016-12-17
- GM Alexander Morozevich (2683) – GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2662) 0-1 · ch-RUS Rapid 2016 · 2016-10-03
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2604) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Oct Early · 2022-10-18
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) – GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2604) 0-1 · Titled Tue 16th Aug Late · 2022-08-16
Search all games of the Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Main Line and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM iustin104 (2654) – kasparik_garik (2679) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- FM iustin104 (2677) – kasparik_garik (2656) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- FM iustin104 (2677) – kasparik_garik (2656) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5
More Old Indian Defense lines (all)
- Old Indian Defense (1… d6 2. c4) A41
- Old Indian Defense (2. c4 d6) A53
- Old Indian Defense: Aged Gibbon Gambit A53
- Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nc3 A53
- Old Indian Defense: Czech Variation, with Nf3 A53
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Fianchetto Variation A53
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Grinberg Gambit 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.