Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5
The Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A53, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5. It is a line of the Old Indian Defense. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 459 times by this move order. White won 54%, 4% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nf3 (31% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.65 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 4. Nf3 g6 5. Qb3 b6 6. h3 Bg7)
- ECO
- A53
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rn1qkb1r/ppp1pppp/3p1n2/5b2/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 93 | |
| 1500-1999 | 288 | |
| 2000+ | 78 | |
| All | 459 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nf3 | 144 (31%) | |
| 4. f3 Janowski Variation, Main Line | 112 (24%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 66 (14%) | |
| 4. e3 | 34 (7%) | |
| 4. Qb3 | 26 (6%) | |
| 4. g3 Janowski Variation, Fianchetto Variation | 25 (5%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 21 (5%) | |
| 4. e4 Janowski Variation, Grinberg Gambit | 21 (5%) |
Master games
163 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 23%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Aleksej Aleksandrov (2608) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2752) 0-1 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 12 · 2020-06-06
- GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2662) – GM Alexander Morozevich (2683) 0-1 · ch-RUS Blitz 2016 · 2016-10-04
- GM Hristos Banikas (2633) – GM Baadur Jobava (2695) 0-1 · 19th European Teams · 2013-11-11
- GM David Anton Guijarro (2646) – GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2635) 1-0 · 53rd Capablanca Mem Elite · 2018-05-17
- GM Erwin L'Ami (2635) – GM Aleksey Dreev (2595) 1-0 · CrunchLab Masters Div 3 W · 2024-07-19
Search all games of the Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Superstitions_Guy (2817) – kasparik_garik (2624) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- 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
Comes from
Old Indian Defense (2. c4 d6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6
Continuations
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Fianchetto Variation A53 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. g3
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Grinberg Gambit A53 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. e4
- Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Main Line A53 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. f3
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: Czech Variation, with Nf3 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.