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Old Indian, Main line (A55)
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 d6 3 Nc3 e5 4 Nf3 Nbd7 5 e4

Number of games in database: 1786
Years covered: 1903 to 2025
Overall record:
   White wins 46.5%
   Black wins 22.2%
   Draws 31.3%

Popularity graph, by decade

Explore this opening  |  Search for sacrifices in this opening.
PRACTITIONERS
With the White Pieces With the Black Pieces
Ivan Farago  17 games
Wolfgang Uhlmann  8 games
Borislav Ivkov  8 games
Lutz Espig  53 games
Thierry Manouck  20 games
Evgeny Prokopchuk  18 games
NOTABLE GAMES [what is this?]
White Wins Black Wins
O Bernstein vs Najdorf, 1954
Rubinstein vs A Nimzowitsch, 1912
Petrosian vs B Larsen, 1960
Averbakh vs Kotov, 1953
Stahlberg vs Kotov, 1953
H W Shoosmith vs A Nimzowitsch, 1907
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 page 1 of 72; games 1-25 of 1,786  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Schlechter vs Tarrasch 1-0261903Monte CarloA55 Old Indian, Main line
2. E Cohn vs A Nimzowitsch 0-1651906Altmunchen Club tournamentA55 Old Indian, Main line
3. H W Shoosmith vs A Nimzowitsch 0-1291907Ostend MastersA55 Old Indian, Main line
4. Vidmar vs Tartakower 0-1781909St. PetersburgA55 Old Indian, Main line
5. Rubinstein vs A Nimzowitsch 1-0501912San SebastianA55 Old Indian, Main line
6. M Lowcki vs Burn 0-136191218th DSB Congress, BreslauA55 Old Indian, Main line
7. S Rubinstein vs Capablanca 0-1311913American NationalA55 Old Indian, Main line
8. A Hodges vs Kupchik  1-0571915Metropolitan Chess League IndividualA55 Old Indian, Main line
9. M Censer vs H Strick van Linschoten  1-0281915MatchA55 Old Indian, Main line
10. Olaf Smedal vs G Nyholm  ½-½541917Nordic Congress, KristianiaA55 Old Indian, Main line
11. Olaf Smedal vs O Lowenborg  1-0271917Nordic Congress, KristianiaA55 Old Indian, Main line
12. Schlechter vs Breyer 0-1521918Five Masters TournamentA55 Old Indian, Main line
13. A Hakansson vs P Johner  0-1291920Gothenburg BA55 Old Indian, Main line
14. Tarrasch vs Euwe 0-1391922Bad PistyanA55 Old Indian, Main line
15. Gruenfeld vs Euwe 1-0401922Bad PistyanA55 Old Indian, Main line
16. W Schelfhout vs H Strick van Linschoten  0-1401922AmsterdamA55 Old Indian, Main line
17. F Bohatirchuk vs S F Lebedev 1-0381923USSR ChampionshipA55 Old Indian, Main line
18. Alekhine vs E Spencer 1-0491923Simul, 31bA55 Old Indian, Main line
19. A Vajda vs M Golmayo  1-0341924Paris Unofficial OlympiadA55 Old Indian, Main line
20. A Selezniev vs A Ilyin-Zhenevsky  1-0531924USSR ChampionshipA55 Old Indian, Main line
21. Saemisch vs J W te Kolste 1-0261925Baden-BadenA55 Old Indian, Main line
22. Rubinstein vs D Przepiorka 1-0331925MarienbadA55 Old Indian, Main line
23. V Marin y Llovet vs M Golmayo  0-1391926BarcelonaA55 Old Indian, Main line
24. P List vs A Brinckmann  0-1531927Berlin Freie VereinigungA55 Old Indian, Main line
25. E J Roesch vs Reshevsky  0-15519271st NCF CongressA55 Old Indian, Main line
 page 1 of 72; games 1-25 of 1,786  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Feb-27-04  waddayaplay: Why isn't this played at highest level anymore? It seems sound enough.
Aug-16-04  tomh72000: See Old Indian (A53) for some discussion. IM Lawrence Day claims it to be sound, and in fact more solid thahn the KID.
Oct-04-04  tacticsjokerxxx: maybe because it's "old"? haha.
Nov-20-04  Knight13: Very likely to be the Center Grabber Opening.
Nov-20-04  gauer: The Old Indian lines are some of my favourite lines too, sometimes delaying Nf6 in favour of responding 1 ... d6, 2 ... Bg4 (if favourable), (2 (if Bg4 is unfavouable) or 3)...Nbd7, and now sometimes choosing c5 or e5, depending on whether an early f4 comes or not, then followed by Nf6. I enjoy playing the Philidor and some of the Two Knights / Hungarian / Semi-Italian Hybrids (see Oxford Companion to Chess for opening lines discussion if you don't know the semi-Italian move order), too, which also suits my repetoire. And the d6 lines seem to be the best (least riskiest) way to get here. I also think it's sound.
Nov-21-04
Premium Chessgames Member
  IMlday: 1.d4 d6 is a Bohatirchuk move order.
After 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.e4 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 is a line he was playing already in the 40's. Black aims for a French type set up with d6-d5 but has well developed the problem B/c8. Against 2.c4 he liked 2..Nd7 but later Suttles preferred 2..e5 since Black has little in the endgame eg Zugic-Day, Ontario Closed 1997 went 3.de de 4.Qd8 Kd8 5.Nc3 Be6 6.b3 Nc6 7.Bb2 Kc8 8.0-0-0 Nf6 9.h3 Bc5 10.e3 Nfd7 11.Nf3 f6 12.Bd3 a5 13.g4 Be7 with a robust equality (.5-.5, 45). The only thing 'wrong' with 1..d6 is that White can play 2.e4 making a Pirc.
Mar-25-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Penguincw: Opening of the Day:
Old Indian, Main line
1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 d6 3.♘c3 e5 4.♘f3 ♘bd7 5.e4
Nov-01-13  Kikoman: <Opening of the Day>

Old Indian, main line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. e4


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Opening Explorer

Aug-02-17  bla bla: Kasparov vs Larsen, 1982

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