Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Romanishin Gambit
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 c5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Romanishin Gambit 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 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 6 times by this move order. White won 17%, 0% were drawn and Black won 83%. The most popular continuation is 7. dxc5 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.33 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 7. dxc5 d4 8. Qg3 Nc6 9. Nf3 O-O)
- ECO
- E36
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp3ppp/4pn2/2pp4/2PP4/P1Q5/1P2PPPP/R1B1KBNR w KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. dxc5 | 4 (67%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 2 (33%) |
Master games
184 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 28%, draw 25%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2765) 1-0 · NIC Classic KO 2021 · 2021-04-28
- GM Ivan Ivanisevic (2643) – GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2657) 1/2-1/2 · 20th Vidmar Mem · 2016-06-28
- GM Zbynek Hracek (2572) – GM David Navara (2724) 0-1 · TCh-POL Ekstraliga 2019 · 2019-09-05
- GM Vladislav Artemiev (2701) – GM Pavel Ponkratov (2593) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-RUS Rapid 2022 · 2022-10-18
- GM Aleksey Dreev (2606) – GM Samuel Sevian (2687) 1/2-1/2 · Chessable Play-In Match · 2023-03-13
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM novik70 (2528) – white-arkangel (2633) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Jord10010 (2422) – DoctorChess333 (2419) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Eduard_Papazian (2390) – lasgolreturn (2392) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
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.