Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E30, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3,664 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4… h6 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.05 (Stockfish, depth 62; best line 4… c5 5. Nf3 h6 6. Bd2 cxd4 7. Nxd4)
- ECO
- E30
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/4pn2/6B1/1bPP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R2QKBNR b KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 360 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2,420 | |
| 2000+ | 884 | |
| All | 3,664 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… h6 | 1,248 (34%) | |
| 4… c5 | 870 (24%) | |
| 4… O-O | 519 (14%) | |
| 4… Bxc3+ | 369 (10%) | |
| 4… d5 | 291 (8%) | |
| 4… b6 | 170 (5%) | |
| 4… c6 | 60 (2%) | |
| 4… d6 | 56 (2%) |
Master games
1,223 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 19%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- GM Anton Korobov (2720) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2784) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2013 · 2013-08-24
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2710) – GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek (2727) 1-0 · IMSA Blitz 2016 · 2016-03-01
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2704) – GM Yue Wang (2720) 1/2-1/2 · SportAccord Basque 2014 · 2014-12-16
- GM Christian Bauer (2664) – GM Peter Leko (2734) 1/2-1/2 · 28th European Club Cup · 2012-10-17
- GM Boris Grachev (2672) – GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2704) 0-1 · Bundesliga 2012-13 · 2012-12-08
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Alexboy14 (2746) – Your_Waterloo (2687) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- CogitoErgoVinco (2638) – kebab188 (2759) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Opteron85 (2681) – secret_mikalsen (2642) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense (3. Nc3 Bb4) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation, Averbakh Gambit E30 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 c5 6. d5 b5
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation, Benoni Defense E31 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 c5 6. d5 d6
More Nimzo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- 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
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Carlsbad Variation E23
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.