Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Berlin Variation, Macieja System
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 b6
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Berlin Variation, Macieja System is a chess opening classified as ECO E39, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 b6. 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 5 times by this move order. White won 40%, 20% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 8. Bg5 (60% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.40 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 8. Bf4 Nc6 9. O-O-O Re8 10. Kb1 Bb7)
- ECO
- E39
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/p2p1ppp/1p2pn2/2b5/2P5/P1N2N2/1PQ1PPPP/R1B1KB1R w KQ - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Bg5 | 3 (60%) | |
| 8. Bf4 | 2 (40%) |
Master games
256 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 32%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2700) – GM Alexander Donchenko (2645) 1-0 · Titled Tue 29th Nov Late · 2022-11-29
- GM Aleksey Dreev (2623) – GM Gata Kamsky (2661) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Rapid W10 Swiss · 2022-04-16
- GM Benjamin Bok (2624) – GM Gata Kamsky (2657) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Rapid Wk2 Swiss · 2022-02-19
- GM Constantin Lupulescu (2625) – GM Rafael Leitao (2649) 1/2-1/2 · 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 2014-08-14
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) – GM Thies Heinemann (2502) 1-0 · Titled Arena Mar 6th 2021 · 2021-03-06
Highest-rated Lichess games
- BILLYS10 (2758) – GM FCChelsea14 (2645) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- GM novik70 (2533) – GM FCChelsea14 (2679) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- ShadowStr1ke (2627) – Driver8 (2449) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Berlin Variation, Pirc Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O
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.