Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Bernstein Defense, Exchange Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Bernstein Defense, Exchange Line is a chess opening classified as ECO E58, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 5 times by this move order. White won 60%, 0% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 9… b6 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.14 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 9… Qc7 10. Qe2 Re8 11. Bb2 Na5 12. Ne5)
- ECO
- E58
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pp3ppp/2n1pn2/2pp4/2PP4/P1PBPN2/5PPP/R1BQ1RK1 b - - 0 9- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… b6 | 2 (40%) | |
| 9… dxc4 | 2 (40%) | |
| 9… Re8 | 1 (20%) |
Master games
111 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 36%, Black 28%). The strongest:
- GM Viktor Laznicka (2679) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2771) 1-0 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-19
- GM Vladimir Potkin (2651) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2785) 1/2-1/2 · 65th ch-RUS · 2012-08-06
- GM Simen Agdestein (2628) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2771) 0-1 · 2nd Norway Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-02
- GM Hao Wang (2752) – GM Yifan Hou (2603) 1-0 · 75th Tata Steel GpA · 2013-01-15
- GM Anton Korobov (2687) – GM Yifan Hou (2649) 0-1 · Corsican Circuit Final · 2016-10-28
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kcarv (2558) – Konsolidasyon (2638) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Barkov_Alexey (2287) – vemeno115 (2426) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- Barkov_Alexey (2295) – Gilhamesch123 (2360) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense (7. O-O Nc6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O Nc6
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Bernstein Defense (9… dxc4 10. Bxc4) E59 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 dxc4 10. Bxc4
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.