The Old Indian is considered sound, though developing the bishop at e7 is less active than the fianchetto, and it has never attained the popularity of the King's Indian. Some King's Indian players will use the Old Indian to avoid certain anti-King's Indian systems, such as the Sämisch and Averbakh Variations.
The Main line, also known as the Ukrainian Variation, arises after 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4; White can also play 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+, but despite the displacement of Black's king, this does not appear to give an advantage, e.g. 5...Kxd8 6.Nf3 Nfd7!, with Black often following up with some combination of ...c6, ...Kd8–c7, ...a5, ...Na6, and ...f6. Black's position is solid and their piece coordination is good; White's pawn exchange in the center has allowed Black equal space and freed the f8-bishop. After 5...Be7 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Re1 (or 8.Be3), White stands slightly better.
Janowski Variation: 3.Nc3 Bf5
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Janowski Variation: 3.Nc3 Bf5
The Janowski Variation, 3.Nc3 Bf5, was first introduced by Dawid Janowski in the 1920s. The idea behind it is that 3...Bf5 prevents White from immediately grabbing space with 4.e4. The variation did not gain much popularity until the 1980s. Several top-level players have employed the line multiple times, including Mikhail Tal, Bent Larsen, Florin Gheorghiu, and Kamran Shirazi.
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