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East Indian Defense

1 variations · 1.9M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026

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2...g6
Analyze this line move by move

Black expected score · Overall

50.0%

45%55%
Floor50.0%

the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.

Measured over 1.9M games at this level and clock.

Playablewins about as often as it loses at this level

Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.

Outcomes for Black

Draw 4.7 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 1.9M games

Rank among the families Black can choose here
#8 of 62
Games in this context
1.9M
Best context
59.5% at 1400-1599 Classical
Worst context
43.4% at 2500+ Blitz
Variations measured
1
Average game length
36 moves

Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.

What to play from here

Black · Overall
#1East Indian DefenseBest here
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6
Floor 50.0% · 1.9M games
50.0%

These are the moves players actually choose from here, ranked by how they score. A higher score is a better bet on the numbers alone — familiarity and playstyle still matter.

Where it holds · Black score by rating × clock

Green is clearly ahead for Black, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It falls away as the rating rises: 59.8% at 0-999, 42.6% at 2500+.

RatingUBBulleBlitzRapidClass
0-999
1000-1199
1200-1399
1400-1599
1600-1799
1800-1999
2000-2199
2200-2499
2500+

Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control

  • 0-999 rating, UltraBullet: 68.1% expected score (65 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Bullet: 54.2% expected score (15,964 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Blitz: 54.2% expected score (27,344 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Rapid: 56.7% expected score (12,154 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Classical: 65.7% expected score (97 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 61.0% expected score (258 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 51.6% expected score (34,733 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 51.6% expected score (45,910 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 54.4% expected score (18,949 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 63.0% expected score (357 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 55.2% expected score (1,031 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 51.0% expected score (58,045 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 51.0% expected score (77,963 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 52.5% expected score (28,956 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 58.3% expected score (1,072 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 54.9% expected score (2,191 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 51.3% expected score (85,114 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 51.0% expected score (118,734 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 53.1% expected score (42,411 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 59.5% expected score (2,456 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 51.3% expected score (4,245 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 50.2% expected score (108,072 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 50.0% expected score (155,356 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 51.5% expected score (46,690 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 55.8% expected score (2,794 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 49.3% expected score (3,940 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 49.8% expected score (132,769 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 49.7% expected score (175,810 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 50.8% expected score (42,800 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 52.6% expected score (2,163 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 43.5% expected score (1,688 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 49.0% expected score (143,558 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 49.0% expected score (166,484 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 49.2% expected score (23,406 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 49.8% expected score (714 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 43.5% expected score (624 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 48.3% expected score (166,660 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 47.4% expected score (94,978 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 46.2% expected score (7,895 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 44.3% expected score (104 games)
  • 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 56.7% expected score (58 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Bullet: 46.7% expected score (65,689 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Blitz: 43.4% expected score (9,870 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Rapid: 39.1% expected score (281 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Classical: 27.0% expected score (5 games)

1 variations · ranked by floor

Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.

1
East Indian Defense1.9M games
50.0%Floor 50.0%
Analyze East Indian Defense PositionsSee what each move is worth at your rating, move by move

Methodology

Across every rating and clock, the East Indian Defense family scores 50.0% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 50.0% and 50.1% — from 1.9M Lichess games across 1 variations. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.

How the figures are made
Whose games these are
1.9M+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
Which games we count
  • Rated games only — nothing casual.
  • Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
  • At least 2 moves played.
  • A game is filed under White’s rating.
Why every number comes with a range
A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
How much we need before we say anything
An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the East Indian Defense win rate?

Across the East Indian Defense's 1 variations, Black wins 47.6%, draws 4.7% and loses 47.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.0%. It rests on 1.9M rated games from Lichess.

How many East Indian Defense variations are there?

1 East Indian Defense variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.

At what rating does the East Indian Defense perform best?

The East Indian Defense family performs best for Black at 0-999, with an Expected Score of 54.8% (56K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.

Is the East Indian Defense better in blitz or rapid?

For Black, the East Indian Defense scores higher in Rapid: an Expected Score of 49.8% in Blitz (872K games) against 51.9% in Rapid (224K games).

How sharp is the East Indian Defense?

East Indian Defense games are 95.3% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 36 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.

Is the East Indian Defense a good opening family?

The East Indian Defense family is about level overall. Across its games, Black wins 47.6% and loses 47.7%. Results differ between its 1 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.