Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Classical Defense
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Classical Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E48, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. White is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 381 times by this move order. White won 51%, 4% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 6. a3 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.09 (Stockfish, depth 56; best line 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5)
- ECO
- E48
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p4/1bPP4/2NBP3/PP3PPP/R1BQK1NR w KQ - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 94 | |
| 2000+ | 283 | |
| All | 381 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. a3 | 111 (29%) | |
| 6. Ne2 | 101 (27%) | |
| 6. Nf3 | 83 (22%) | |
| 6. cxd5 | 79 (21%) | |
| 6. Qc2 | 4 (1%) | |
| 6. c5 | 3 (1%) |
Master games
3,864 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 30%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- Stockfish dev-20240728-2343f71 (3662) – LCZero 0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-61 (3631) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Balanced Lines · 2024-08-03
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2861) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2774) 1-0 · Lindores Abbey Stars · 2019-05-25
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2781) 1-0 · 5th Norway Chess 2017 · 2017-06-15
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) – GM Vincent Keymer (2762) 1-0 · Chess.com Open Playoffs · 2026-04-23
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2793) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2810) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Candidates · 2013-03-19
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM cutemouse83 (2968) – tsunami10 (2810) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM cutemouse83 (2944) – feeblad (2830) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- GM cutemouse83 (2958) – NameTheGame (2701) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation (4… O-O 5. Bd3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System (6. Nf3 c5) E53 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Schlechter Defense (6. Nf3 b6) E52 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 b6
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Botvinnik System E49 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Ragozin Defense E48 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O
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.