Nimzo-Indian Defense: Mikenas Attack
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qd3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Mikenas Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO E20, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qd3. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 83 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4… O-O (27% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.16 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… c5 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd2 cxd4 7. Nxd4)
- ECO
- E20
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/1bPP4/2NQ4/PP2PPPP/R1B1KBNR b KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qd3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 14 | |
| 1500-1999 | 57 | |
| 2000+ | 12 | |
| All | 83 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… O-O | 22 (27%) | |
| 4… d5 | 20 (24%) | |
| 4… c5 | 16 (19%) | |
| 4… b6 | 12 (14%) | |
| 4… Bxc3+ | 8 (10%) | |
| 4… h6 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 2 (2%) |
Master games
20 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 30%, draw 5%, Black 65%). The strongest:
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2628) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2752) 0-1 · Speed Chess Super Swiss · 2020-10-03
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2631) – IM Aditya Mittal (2438) 1-0 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 14 · 2020-06-20
- FM Pedro Ramon Martinez Reyes (2427) – GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 22nd Dec · 2020-12-22
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2631) – CM Read Samadov (2332) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Aug 10am · 2020-08-04
- FM Pedro Ramon Martinez Reyes (2427) – WIM Mrudul Dehankar (2256) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 15th Dec · 2020-12-15
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Mikenas Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NM robertoyepez (2264) – chessnorisk (2240) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- htwo (2055) – jangolak (2197) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Katok_64 (2137) – gkdt (2075) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense (3. Nc3 Bb4) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4
More Nimzo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Dilworth Gambit E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Kmoch Variation 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
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Romanovsky Gambit 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.