Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5
The Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A54, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5. It is a line of the Old Indian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,030 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4. dxe5 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.41 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Nxd4 Be7 6. e4 Nc6)
- ECO
- A54
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/3p1n2/4p3/2PP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 82 | |
| 1500-1999 | 392 | |
| 2000+ | 556 | |
| All | 1,030 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. dxe5 | 420 (41%) | |
| 4. d5 | 266 (26%) | |
| 4. Nf3 Two Knights Variation | 179 (17%) | |
| 4. e3 | 68 (7%) | |
| 4. e4 | 53 (5%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 36 (3%) | |
| 4. f3 | 3 (0%) | |
| 4. g3 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
846 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 31%, draw 18%, Black 51%). The strongest:
- GM Sam Shankland (2731) – GM Richard Rapport (2735) 0-1 · Champions Showdown Blitz · 2019-02-23
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2687) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) 1-0 · Crunchlabs Play-In Match D1 · 2024-07-18
- GM Sanan Sjugirov (2712) – GM Anton Demchenko (2623) 0-1 · Titled Tue 23rd May Early · 2023-05-23
- GM Alexander Riazantsev (2650) – GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2653) 0-1 · World Rapid 2017 · 2017-12-27
- GM Daniele Vocaturo (2584) – GM Baadur Jobava (2713) 0-1 · ACP Golden Classic 2014 · 2014-07-16
Search all games of the Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian 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 (2. c4 d6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6
Continuations
- Old Indian Defense: Two Knights Variation A54 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3
- Old Indian Defense: Duz-Khotimirsky Variation A54 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e3 Nbd7 5. Bd3
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: 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: 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.