Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Berlin Variation (6. Nf3 c5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. e3 d5 6. Nf3 c5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Berlin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E38, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. e3 d5 6. Nf3 c5. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 9 times by this move order. White won 56%, 0% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 7. a3 (44% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Nc6 9. Be2 Na5)
- ECO
- E38
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pp3ppp/4pn2/2pp4/1bPP4/2N1PN2/PPQ2PPP/R1B1KB1R w KQ - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. e3 d5 6. Nf3 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 9 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. a3 | 4 (44%) | |
| 7. Bd3 | 3 (33%) | |
| 7. cxd5 | 1 (11%) | |
| 7. Be2 | 1 (11%) |
Master games
12 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 25%, draw 25%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- FM Alex Golding (2318) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2603) 0-1 · Titled Tue 24th Jan Late · 2023-01-24
- GM Olga Girya (2380) – GM Sergey Drygalov (2530) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 16th Apr 2026 · 2026-04-16
- WGM Nguyen Thi Thanh An (2265) – GM Zong-Yuan Zhao (2543) 1/2-1/2 · Belt and Road Hainan Open · 2017-12-17
- IM Yohan Benitah (2377) – FM Davide Arcuti (2390) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-SUI 2021 · 2021-12-11
- GM Olga Girya (2380) – FM Lucas Aguiar Cunha (2252) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 30th Jul 2026 · 2026-07-30
Highest-rated Lichess games
- forgacsj (2313) – ANewTry (2213) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 300 + 0s
- bjorking (2162) – DeepNimzovich (2245) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 5s
- khyaban (2161) – MissCalculation (2203) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2
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.