Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation (5. cxd5 exd5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E35, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5. 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 221 times by this move order. White won 51%, 7% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bg5 (63% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.12 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Nc6)
- ECO
- E35
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp2ppp/5n2/3p4/1b1P4/2N5/PPQ1PPPP/R1B1KBNR w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 51 | |
| 2000+ | 166 | |
| All | 221 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bg5 | 139 (63%) | |
| 6. Nf3 | 39 (18%) | |
| 6. a3 | 15 (7%) | |
| 6. Bf4 | 12 (5%) | |
| 6. e3 | 9 (4%) | |
| 6. Bd2 | 5 (2%) | |
| 6. f3 | 1 (0%) | |
| 6. g3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
2,158 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 30%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2747) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2856) 1-0 · Aimchess Rapid Prelim · 2022-10-14
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2835) – GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2758) 0-1 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-09
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2844) – GM Boris Gelfand (2748) 1-0 · Tashkent FIDE GP 2014 · 2014-10-28
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) 1-0 · NIC Classic KO 2021 · 2021-05-02
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2778) – GM Liren Ding (2791) 1/2-1/2 · Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2020-04-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Crew12 (2721) – GM Super_FanZhendong (2887) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM Crew12 (2708) – Fide_MaSk (2730) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- spartak20 (2715) – ZARIMA1 (2724) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation (4. Qc2 d5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 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.