Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Schlechter Defense (6. Nf3 b6)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 b6
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 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 b6. 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 7 times by this move order. White won 71%, 0% were drawn and Black won 29%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (71% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.16 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7. O-O c5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. dxc5 bxc5)
- ECO
- E52
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/p1p2ppp/1p2pn2/3p4/1bPP4/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQK2R w KQ - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 7 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O | 5 (71%) | |
| 7. cxd5 | 2 (29%) |
Master games
692 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 32%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2769) – GM Hao Wang (2726) 1-0 · 40th Olympiad Open · 2012-09-09
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2792) – GM David Navara (2697) 0-1 · 7th Gashimov Mem Rapid · 2021-12-20
- GM Anton Korobov (2700) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2762) 0-1 · World Rapid 2015 · 2015-10-10
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2720) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2736) 0-1 · Niemann-Vidit Blitz Day 1 · 2025-06-28
- GM Evgeny Tomashevsky (2722) – GM Nikita Vitiugov (2721) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-RUS Men 2016 · 2016-05-09
Highest-rated Lichess games
- tantgreta (2585) – VladChennel (2476) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Never_Give-Up3300 (2532) – dhurandhar14 (2454) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 0s
- Kcarv (2552) – Kokomeloni (2429) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Classical Defense 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5
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.