Old Indian Defense
13 variations · 5.9M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · Overall
51.0%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.
Measured over 5.9M games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for White
Draw 3.9 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 5.9M games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- #36 of 56
- Games in this context
- 5.9M
- Best context
- 58.1% at 2000-2199 Classical
- Worst context
- 45.0% at 2200-2499 UltraBullet
- Variations measured
- 13
- 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
White · OverallThese 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 · White score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for White, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It gets better as the rating rises: 50.2% at 0-999, 61.0% at 2500+.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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: 46.6% expected score (362 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 49.6% expected score (36,256 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 51.0% expected score (50,953 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 51.9% expected score (13,922 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 51.9% expected score (77 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 50.0% expected score (1,338 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 50.8% expected score (104,751 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 52.1% expected score (127,326 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 52.9% expected score (32,738 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 53.5% expected score (509 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 48.1% expected score (3,956 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 50.4% expected score (215,064 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 51.5% expected score (244,556 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 53.1% expected score (65,245 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 54.0% expected score (2,080 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 50.1% expected score (10,222 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 50.3% expected score (352,512 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 51.0% expected score (410,705 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 52.6% expected score (107,057 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 55.5% expected score (5,089 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 50.6% expected score (11,928 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 50.0% expected score (505,577 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 50.7% expected score (553,776 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 51.7% expected score (135,089 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 54.7% expected score (6,745 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 51.9% expected score (5,407 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 50.3% expected score (566,555 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 50.6% expected score (610,947 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 51.6% expected score (129,847 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 54.1% expected score (5,659 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 50.4% expected score (1,782 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 50.2% expected score (474,232 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 51.1% expected score (409,503 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 52.6% expected score (63,890 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 58.1% expected score (1,486 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 45.0% expected score (596 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 51.6% expected score (361,559 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 53.3% expected score (170,649 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 54.6% expected score (14,472 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 62.1% expected score (194 games)
- 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 62.9% expected score (53 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 54.1% expected score (79,362 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 56.2% expected score (15,145 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 63.5% expected score (454 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 68.2% expected score (4 games)
13 variations · ranked by floor
Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Old Indian Defense family scores 51.0% for White — we are 90% confident it is 51.0% — from 5.9M Lichess games across 13 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
- 5.9M+ 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 Old Indian Defense win rate?
Across the Old Indian Defense's 13 variations, White wins 49.0%, draws 3.9% and loses 47.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.0%. It rests on 5.9M rated games from Lichess.
How many Old Indian Defense variations are there?
13 Old Indian Defense variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.
At what rating does the Old Indian Defense perform best?
The Old Indian Defense family performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 54.4% (95K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.
Is the Old Indian Defense better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Old Indian Defense scores higher in Rapid: an Expected Score of 51.1% in Blitz (2.6M games) against 52.3% in Rapid (563K games).
How sharp is the Old Indian Defense?
Old Indian Defense games are 96.1% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 36 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.
Is the Old Indian Defense a good opening family?
The Old Indian Defense family is about level overall. Across its games, White wins 49.0% and loses 47.1%. Results differ between its 13 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.