West Indian Defense

West Indian Defense is the Lichess label for the position after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6. Most references treat it simply as the starting point of the King's Indian Defense; Lichess holds back the King's Indian name until White has made a third move, an unusual convention. Tartakower once classed this move order as the "alt-Indisch" or Old Indian, a name that today normally means setups with 2...d6 and no fianchetto.

The point of 2...g6 is ...Bg7. The bishop covers the dark squares around the castled king that the pawn move has loosened, and from g7 it bears down the long diagonal on d4 and White's center. Because Black has not yet moved a central pawn, the choice between ...d6, heading for the King's Indian, and ...d5, the Grünfeld, is still open, and much of White's third-move choice is about which of these to allow.

3. Nc3, played in about three games out of four, prepares e4. After 3...Bg7 the game enters King's Indian territory, where White often develops with Nf3, Be2 and O-O and expands on the queenside, while Black seeks kingside play with ...e5 and ...f5, or occasionally strikes with ...c5 and ...b5. The principal alternative is 3...d5, the Grünfeld, whose main line exchanges knights with 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3.

The second most common move, 3. Nf3, keeps options flexible. White can also fianchetto the king's bishop, either at once with 3. g3 or by 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3; in these lines White may refrain from e4 so as not to block the bishop's diagonal. The modest 3. e3 is seen occasionally, and Black scores slightly better against it.

Several moves aim to sidestep the Grünfeld. 3. f3, the Alekhine Variation, prepares e4 with a pawn, so that after 3...d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 the knight cannot be exchanged and must retreat with 5...Nb6. 3. d5, the Advance Variation, rules out ...d5 directly, though Black has done well against it in online games. Rarer still are 3. h4, the Basman-Williams Attack, and 3. Qc2, the Mengarini Attack. Across the whole database the position is among the more frequently reached named openings, results are close to level, and engines regard it as roughly balanced.