Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Schlechter Defense (7. O-O d5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O d5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Schlechter Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E52, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O d5. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 12 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 8. cxd5 (58% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 43; best line 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Ne5 c5 10. Bd2 Ba6)
- ECO
- E52
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbp2ppp/1p2pn2/3p4/1bPP4/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 9 | |
| All | 12 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. cxd5 | 7 (58%) | |
| 8. Qc2 | 2 (17%) | |
| 8. a3 | 2 (17%) | |
| 8. Qe2 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
109 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 20%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Alexey Sarana (2677) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th Jan Early · 2025-01-14
- IM Nikolas Lubbe (2515) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2799) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com IoM Masters · 2017-09-24
- GM Constantin Lupulescu (2588) – GM Alan Pichot (2635) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-FRA Top 16 GpA 2024 · 2024-06-01
- GM Viktor Matviishen (2566) – GM Alan Pichot (2637) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz 2024 · 2024-12-30
- GM Mihajlo Stojanovic (2507) – GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2696) 1/2-1/2 · Basel Masters 2016 · 2016-01-05
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SecretOpenings37 (2530) – SouthWind06 (2553) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SecretOpenings37 (2546) – nightmareluffy (2523) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- fredipetriti (2250) – NM Girome (2377) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (6… O-O 7. O-O) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O 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.