Nimzo-Indian Defense
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4: Black pins the c3 knight to fight for e4. The Nimzo-Indian is one of the most successful hypermodern defences and among the most respected replies to 1.d4.
783master games
2626avg. Elo
18variations
White wins %22 · draw %61 · Black wins %17
Played by: Keymer, So, Gukesh, Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Maghsoodloo, Erigaisi, Mamedyarov
Main line
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.a3 Bd6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Nb5 c5 10.b3 Be7 11.Nf3 Bb7 12.Bb2 Nbd7 13.O-O Re8 14.Rfd1 a6 15.Nc3 Bd6
Learn every line move by move on an interactive board with Stockfish 19 evaluation, model games and spaced repetition. Also: every chess tournament worldwide and 4,100+ puzzles.
Try 7 days free →Variations played by masters (18)
Normal Variation, Classical Defense · ECO E48 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.a3 Bd6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Nb5 c5 10.b3 Be7 …
103 games · avg. Elo 2615 · W/D/L 16/68/19 · Model game: Gledura – Suleymanli, 2025 (0-1)
Classical Variation · ECO E32 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.e4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 c5 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nd7 10.Bf4 Qh4 …
95 games · avg. Elo 2622 · W/D/L 22/58/15
Three Knights Variation · ECO E21 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.e3 Bb7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O c5 8.Na4 cxd4 9.a3 Be7 10.exd4 d6 …
87 games · avg. Elo 2639 · W/D/L 14/59/14 · Model game: Nihal – Pranav, 2025 (1-0)
Three Knights Variation · ECO E21 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.e3 Bb7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O c5 8.Na4 cxd4 9.a3 Be7 10.exd4 d6 …
87 games · avg. Elo 2639 · W/D/L 14/59/14 · Model game: Nihal – Pranav, 2025 (1-0)
Normal Variation, Botvinnik System · ECO E49 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Nf3 Qc7 10.Be2 b6 …
66 games · avg. Elo 2612 · W/D/L 16/43/7 · Model game: Fier – Mekhitarian, 2023 (1/2-1/2)
Kmoch Variation · ECO E20 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 c5 5.d5 b5 6.e4 d6 7.Ne2 bxc4 8.Nf4 g5 9.Ne2 exd5 10.exd5 Qe7 …
53 games · avg. Elo 2613 · W/D/L 20/27/6 · Model game: Sarana – Tsydypov, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Normal Variation · ECO E46 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd2 d5 6.Nf3 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.Qc2 c5 10.O-O c4 …
46 games · avg. Elo 2626 · W/D/L 13/27/6 · Model game: So – Anand, 2025 (1-0)
Classical Variation, Noa Variation · ECO E36 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 O-O 7.Nf3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Bg5 Ba6 10.Qa4 h6 …
35 games · avg. Elo 2618 · W/D/L 8/22/5 · Model game: Gupta – Sadhwani, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Romanishin Variation · ECO E20 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 dxc4 7.O-O Nc6 8.a3 Be7 9.e4 Rb8 10.Bf4 b5 …
28 games · avg. Elo 2634 · W/D/L 8/15/5 · Model game: Praggnanandhaa – Nguyen, 2025 (1-0)
Romanishin Variation · ECO E20 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 dxc4 7.O-O Nc6 8.a3 Be7 9.e4 Rb8 10.Bf4 b5 …
28 games · avg. Elo 2634 · W/D/L 8/15/5 · Model game: Praggnanandhaa – Nguyen, 2025 (1-0)
Sämisch Variation · ECO E24 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 b6 6.f3 Nc6 7.e4 Na5 8.Bd3 Ba6 9.Qe2 c5 10.Nh3 cxd4 …
27 games · avg. Elo 2639 · W/D/L 6/11/10 · Model game: Abdusattorov – Wei Yi, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Sämisch Variation · ECO E24 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 b6 6.f3 Nc6 7.e4 Na5 8.Bd3 Ba6 9.Qe2 c5 10.Nh3 cxd4 …
27 games · avg. Elo 2639 · W/D/L 6/11/10 · Model game: Abdusattorov – Wei Yi, 2025 (1/2-1/2)
Classical Variation, Berlin Variation, Pirc Variation · ECO E39 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.a3 Bxc5 7.Nf3 d5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.e3 Nbd7 10.Rd1 h6 …
25 games · avg. Elo 2626 · W/D/L 5/17/3 · Model game: Caruana – Aronian, 2026 (1-0)
Classical Variation, Berlin Variation, Pirc Variation · ECO E39 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.a3 Bxc5 7.Nf3 d5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.e3 Nbd7 10.Rd1 h6 …
25 games · avg. Elo 2626 · W/D/L 5/17/3 · Model game: Caruana – Aronian, 2026 (1-0)
Rubinstein System · ECO E41 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.exd4 Nc6 9.O-O O-O 10.a3 Be7 …
13 games · avg. Elo 2636 · W/D/L 3/7/3 · Model game: Tabatabaei – Aravindh, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
St. Petersburg Variation, American Variation · ECO E44 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Ne2 Ne4 6.Bd2 Nxd2 7.Qxd2 Bb7 8.a3 Be7 9.d5 a5 10.Nf4 e5 …
13 games · avg. Elo 2620 · W/D/L 2/8/3 · Model game: Praggnanandhaa – Deac, 2024 (1/2-1/2)
Classical Variation, Keres Defense · ECO E32 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.e3 d6 9.Ne2 Nbd7 10.Rd1 h6 …
13 games · avg. Elo 2610 · W/D/L 3/6/4 · Model game: Artemiev – Ding Liren, 2026 (1/2-1/2)
Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation · ECO E42 · for Black
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Ne2 d5 6.a3 Ba5 7.dxc5 dxc4 8.Bd2 O-O 9.Ng3 b6 10.Bxc4 bxc5 …
12 games · avg. Elo 2630 · W/D/L 4/7/1 · Model game: Sarana – Volokitin, 2025 (1-0)
Learn every line move by move on an interactive board with Stockfish 19 evaluation, model games and spaced repetition. Also: every chess tournament worldwide and 4,100+ puzzles.
Try 7 days free →Other openings
Sicilian DefenseQueen's Gambit DeclinedRuy LopezEnglish OpeningItalian GameIndian DefensePetrov's DefenseFrench DefenseZukertort OpeningCaro-Kann DefenseQueen's Pawn GameKing's Indian AttackFour Knights GameQueen's Gambit AcceptedCatalan OpeningScotch Game
Statistics from classical games of 2500+ rated players. Notation: K king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop, N knight.