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Indian Defense win rate

White scored 51.8% (margin 0.5 points) in 30,925 rated games of the Indian Defense, ECO A45, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 16 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 1.9% of all games.

49.4%
45.7%
  • White wins 49.4%
  • Draws 4.9%
  • Black wins 45.7%

30,925 games

How often does White win in the Indian Defense?

White won 49.4% of the 30,925 games, 4.9% were drawn and Black won 45.7%. White's score of 51.8% is no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.0 points is inside the margin of 0.5 points.

Results of 30,925 Indian Defense games, 1 September 2026.
ResultGamesShare
White wins15,27649.4%
Draws1,5144.9%
Black wins14,13545.7%

Does the Indian Defense score differently at different ratings?

White's score is highest at 1200 to 1599 (52.6%) and lowest at under 1200 (50.2%). That spread of 2.4 points is inside the two margins added together, so the data show no clear difference between the bands.

Players rated 2000 and above choose the Indian Defense most often relative to their other openings, in 3.5 percent of their games.

White's score in the Indian Defense by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.
Rating bandGamesShare of the bandWhite scoreMargin (points)
under 12002,9761.1%50.2%1.8
1200 to 15998,5981.5%52.6%1.0
1600 to 199913,8472.3%51.6%0.8
2000 and above5,5043.5%52.2%1.3

How does the Indian Defense do in blitz, rapid and classical?

The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out.

White's score in the Indian Defense by time control, 1 September 2026.
Time controlGamesWhite scoreMargin (points)
Blitz23,69551.9%0.6
Rapid7,00351.6%1.1

What are the most played lines of the Indian Defense?

The most played named line is the Accelerated London System, with 9,889 games and a White score of 52.2%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row.

Named lines of the Indian Defense, most played first, 1 September 2026.
LineGamesWhite scoreMargin (points)
Accelerated London System9,88952.2%1.0
Wade-Tartakower Defense1,70054.1%2.3
Normal Variation1,59251.7%2.4
London System1,54253.5%2.4
Knights Variation1,07351.7%2.9
Budapest Defense1,04550.6%3.0
Anti-Nimzo-Indian85353.0%3.3
Spielmann-Indian69953.7%3.6
Budapest Defense, Adler Variation61749.4%3.9
West Indian Defense54247.4%4.1
Main line and less played lines9,02351.5%1.0

How were these opening statistics measured?

Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full.

Frequently asked questions

What is the win rate of the Indian Defense?

White won 49.4%, drew 4.9% and lost 45.7% of 30,925 games, a White score of 51.8% with a margin of 0.5 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026.

Is the Indian Defense good for White?

At these ratings White's score was no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.0 points is inside the margin of 0.5 points. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening.

What is the most popular line of the Indian Defense?

The Accelerated London System was the most played named line, with 9,889 games, which is 32.0% of the Indian Defense games.

Sources

Related guides and tools

Last updated 2026-10-22.

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