Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation, Botvinnik Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Nc6
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation, Botvinnik Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E36, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Nc6. 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 4 times by this move order. White won 25%, 25% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 7. Nf3 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 7. Nf3 Ne4 8. Qb3 a5 9. e3 O-O)
- ECO
- E36
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/ppp2ppp/2n1pn2/3p4/2PP4/P1Q5/1P2PPPP/R1B1KBNR w KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 4 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. Nf3 | 3 (75%) | |
| 7. c5 | 1 (25%) |
Master games
13 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 39%, Black 15%). The strongest:
- GM Gleb Dudin (2585) – GM Awonder Liang (2714) 1/2-1/2 · College Final Four 2026 · 2026-03-21
- GM Benjamin Bok (2583) – GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen (2668) 0-1 · Tata Steel Challengers · 2025-02-02
- GM Alexey Sarana (2666) – GM Sebastian Bogner (2547) 1-0 · 46th Olympiad 2026 · 2026-09-25
- GM Aleksey Dreev (2606) – IM Rudik Makarian (2554) 1-0 · Dvoretsky Mem Classical · 2022-12-11
- GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2565) – IM Polina Shuvalova (2475) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-RUS Premier 2023 · 2023-05-02
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kingkiller0606 (2273) – LandyPJY (2260) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- dVladimirz (1923) – TheRipeMango (1950) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Anoanakia (1848) – GreaterKing12 (1799) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation (4… d5 5. a3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3
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.