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
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E56, 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. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 12 times by this move order. White won 42%, 8% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 8. cxd5 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.39 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 8. cxd5 exd5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. h3 Re8)
- ECO
- E56
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pp3ppp/2n1pn2/2pp4/1bPP4/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 2 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 8 | |
| All | 12 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. cxd5 | 6 (50%) | |
| 8. a3 | 5 (42%) | |
| 8. Ne2 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
195 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 37%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2769) – GM Michael Adams (2722) 1/2-1/2 · 1st FIDE GP London 2012 · 2012-09-23
- GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2727) – GM Michael Adams (2752) 1/2-1/2 · 19th European Teams · 2013-11-12
- GM Hao Wang (2742) – GM Michael Adams (2722) 1/2-1/2 · 1st FIDE GP London 2012 · 2012-09-21
- GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2716) – GM Michael Adams (2725) 1-0 · 1st GRENKE Chess Classic · 2013-02-08
- GM Evgeny Tomashevsky (2695) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2724) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Rapid 2014 · 2014-06-17
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kcarv (2558) – Konsolidasyon (2638) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Ratzefatz (2362) – annibaledolci (2352) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Barkov_Alexey (2287) – vemeno115 (2426) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System (6. Nf3 c5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Bernstein Defense, Exchange Line E58 · 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
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense (9. Bxc4 cxd4) E57 · 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 dxc4 9. Bxc4 cxd4
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.