Indian Defense: Tartakower Attack: what should Black play?

In the Indian Defense: Tartakower Attack (ECO A45), Black's most effective continuation according to computer evaluation is d5, staking an immediate claim in the center with an evaluation of -0.02. Recorded in 605K games (26.8% of the 2,259,494 games from this position), the move blunts White's intended kingside fianchetto and allows Black comfortable piece activity. While g6 remains the most popular response in practice, d5 and c5 offer Black fully balanced prospects.

Striking the Center with d5 and c5

Black's central counter d5 challenges White to define their setup before the f1 reaches the long diagonal. Against this, White achieves a 51.0% score, often leading to lines such as d5 Nf3 Bf5 c4 e6 Nc3, where Black readily develops the light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain. Alternatively, the sharp c5 is the second-highest engine recommendation at -0.01; it appears in 186K games (8.2%) and holds White to their lowest scoring percentage among top options at 47.5%, with the engine highlighting c5 d5 b5 a4 b4 c4.

Classical Fianchetto and Flexible Setups

The most frequent choice across recorded games is g6, seen in 811K games (35.9%). Carrying an evaluation of +0.15 with a 50.3% White score, it leads directly to symmetrical structures in illustrative continuations like g6 c4 c6 Nf3 Bg7 Nc3. Similarly, e6 is chosen in 598K games (26.5%) with a +0.15 evaluation and a 51.9% White score, illustrated by e6 c4 Bb4+ Nd2 O-O Bg2. Black can also select c6, played in 60K games (2.6%, +0.11 evaluation, 52.0% White score), which leads toward lines like c6 Nf3 d5 c4 g6 Bg2.