Old Indian Defense

ECO A53-A55beginner

The Old Indian, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 followed by ...e5 and ...Be7, is the King's Indian's conservative ancestor: the same e5 strongpoint, but the bishop stays home on e7 rather than fianchettoing. Black's setup (...Nbd7, ...c6, ...Qc7, ...Re8) is nearly impossible to attack and prepares the same ...exd4 or kingside expansion ideas at reduced risk. It concedes the g7 bishop's dynamism — the engine calls it slightly passive — but as a low-theory, hard-to-lose answer to 1.d4 it has quietly served generations of solid players.

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Main line

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

White advances the pawn to d4, staking a claim in the center and opening lines for the bishop and queen to develop.
Black brings the knight to f6, a great central square. It challenges White's control of the center and prepares to develop the rest of the pieces.
White pushes the pawn to c4, building a strong pawn center alongside d4. This is the English-style setup that gives White lots of space.
Black advances the pawn to d6, supporting the center and preparing to develop the bishop and knight on the queenside.
White brings the knight to c3, a strong square where it supports the d4 and e4 pawns and helps control the center.
Black pushes the pawn to e5, challenging White's big pawn center right away. This is the spirit of the Old Indian Defense!
The knight hops to f3, a wonderful central square. It guards the d4 pawn and eyes several important squares in the middle of the board.
Black brings the b-knight to d7, keeping the center flexible. From d7 the knight can later jump to f6 or f8 to help defend.
White advances the pawn to e4, completing a powerful pawn center. Now White controls a lot of the board with pawns on c4, d4, and e4.
Black develops the bishop to e7, a solid square where it protects the king and prepares for kingside castling.
White moves the bishop to e2, a quiet but useful square. It gets the bishop off the back rank and clears the way for White to castle kingside.
Black castles kingside, tucking the king safely behind the pawns and connecting the rooks. A very important move for king safety!

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Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	69	47.8%	1.4%	50.7%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
600-800	141	48.9%	3.5%	47.5%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3
800-1000	49	53.1%	2%	44.9%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7
1000-1200	33	54.5%	0%	45.5%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4
1200-1400	58	62.1%	1.7%	36.2%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 O-O
1400-1600	133	52.6%	2.3%	45.1%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 O-O
1600-1800	38	60.5%	0%	39.5%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 O-O
1800-2000	135	51.1%	3.7%	45.2%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 O-O
2000-2200	343	48.1%	5.2%	46.7%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 O-O
2200-2400	422	53.6%	5.9%	40.5%	1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 O-O

Most played continuations (2200-2400 rating)

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 Be7 6.Be2 O-O:

O-O — played 88.2% of the time (White wins 54.6%, draws 5.9%, Black wins 39.5%)
Be3 — played 6.2% of the time (White wins 61.5%, draws 3.9%, Black wins 34.6%)
h3 — played 4.5% of the time (White wins 36.8%, draws 0%, Black wins 63.2%)

Frequently asked questions

Why play the Old Indian instead of the King's Indian?

Safety and simplicity: without ...g6 there is no fianchetto to attack with h4-h5 or Be3/Qd2 setups, the theory is a fraction of the KID's, and the e5 strongpoint plans are identical in spirit. You give up the g7 bishop's long-diagonal power — the KID's main winning engine — for a sturdier hull.

What should White do against the Old Indian?

Claim space and keep pieces on: the standard plan is e4, Be2, 0-0 and d5 (or maintaining tension with Re1 and Bf1), then queenside expansion with b4 and c5. Black's position bends but rarely breaks — White's edge comes from space and patience, not forcing lines.