Old Indian Defense: Two Knights Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3
The Old Indian Defense: Two Knights Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A54, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3. 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 179 times by this move order. White won 53%, 6% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nbd7 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.54 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 4… exd4 5. Nxd4 Be7 6. g3 d5 7. cxd5)
- ECO
- A54
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/4p3/2PP4/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6 | |
| 1500-1999 | 25 | |
| 2000+ | 148 | |
| All | 179 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nbd7 | 74 (41%) | |
| 4… e4 | 51 (28%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 29 (16%) | |
| 4… exd4 | 19 (11%) | |
| 4… Be6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4… a5 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
994 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 23%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- Obsidian dev-16.15 (3714) – LCZero 0.33-dev-f6ec55c-BT4-6147500-it332 (3749) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-20
- LCZero 0.33-dev-f6ec55c-BT4-6147500-it332 (3749) – Obsidian dev-16.15 (3714) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-18
- LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) – Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- Stockfish dev-20231010-00263636 (3673) – LCZero 0.31-dag-e429eeb-BT3-2790000 (3642) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Superfinal 2023 · 2023-10-12
- LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) – Stockfish 20210113 (3601) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-28
Search all games of the Old Indian Defense: Two Knights Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2850) – GM Kiborg95 (2777) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Your_Waterloo (2693) – InvadedDorms (2621) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- JAGMM (2667) – IM Lenyas66 (2610) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5
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 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: 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.