Nimzo-Indian Defense (4… O-O 5. Nf3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E50, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 155 times by this move order. White won 41%, 6% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 5… d5 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.04 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5… d5 6. Bd2 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Rc1)
- ECO
- E50
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/1bPP4/2N1PN2/PP3PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQ - 2 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 15 | |
| 1500-1999 | 64 | |
| 2000+ | 76 | |
| All | 155 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… d5 Normal Variation, Ragozin Variation | 61 (39%) | |
| 5… b6 | 32 (21%) | |
| 5… c5 | 28 (18%) | |
| 5… Bxc3+ | 9 (6%) | |
| 5… Ne4 | 9 (6%) | |
| 5… d6 | 5 (3%) | |
| 5… Re8 | 5 (3%) | |
| 5… c6 | 3 (2%) |
Master games
409 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 27%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Liren Ding (2806) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) 1/2-1/2 · Chessable Masters KO 2022 · 2022-05-24
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM So, W. (2812) 0-1 · GCT Rapid YourNextMove · 2017-06-28
- GM Levon Aronian (2797) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2820) 1/2-1/2 · 77th Tata Steel GpA · 2015-01-17
- GM Liren Ding (2801) – GM Levon Aronian (2775) 1/2-1/2 · 11th London Classic 2019 · 2019-12-03
- GM Quang Liem Le (2713) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2822) 0-1 · Superbet Rapid 2019 · 2019-11-07
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GeForceExperience (2604) – Natah_Flo (2679) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM AtalikS (2679) – Partake (2554) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- puretraining (2605) – SonofAtlantis (2606) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation (4. e3 O-O) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Ragozin Variation E51 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3 d5
More Nimzo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- Nimzo-Indian Defense (3. Nc3 Bb4) E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Dilworth Gambit E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Kmoch Variation E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Mikenas Attack E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Romanishin Variation (3… Bb4 4. g3) E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Romanishin Variation (5… O-O 6. Bg2) E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Romanishin Variation, English Hybrid E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation E21
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Euwe Variation E21
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Korchnoi Variation E21
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Shocron Gambit E21
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation E22
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.