Indian Defense: West Indian Defense
Chess opening · ECO E60 · 4 half-moves
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6
The Indian Defense: West Indian Defense is reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Indian Defense: Normal Variation with 2… g6.
How often it is played
The Indian Defense: West Indian Defense and its variations appeared in 0.98% of games — 29,300 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 53 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 49%, 4.6% were drawn and Black won 47%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.37 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 | 0.56% |
| Nimzo-Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 | 0.24% |
| Benoni Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 | 0.24% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 | 0.81% |
| King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 | 0.09% |
| King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Immediate Fianchetto | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 | 0.02% |
| Neo-Grünfeld Defense: with Nf3 | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 d5 | 0.01% |
| Indian Defense: Anti-Grünfeld, Advance Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. d5 | 0.01% |
| Indian Defense: Anti-Grünfeld, Alekhine Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 | 0.00% |
| Indian Defense: Anti-Grünfeld, Basman-Williams Attack | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 | 0.00% |
| King's Indian Defense: Santasiere Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. b4 | 0.00% |
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