Nimzo-Indian Defense: Romanishin Variation (5… O-O 6. Bg2)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Romanishin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E20, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black 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 29%, 0% were drawn and Black won 71%. The most popular continuation is 6… d5 (57% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 6… cxd4 7. Nxd4 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Qb3)
- ECO
- E20
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/2p5/1bPP4/2N2NP1/PP2PPBP/R1BQK2R b KQ - 2 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 7 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… d5 | 4 (57%) | |
| 6… Bxc3+ | 1 (14%) | |
| 6… d6 | 1 (14%) | |
| 6… cxd4 | 1 (14%) |
Master games
60 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 55%, draw 25%, Black 20%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2877) – GM Arkadij Naiditsch (2709) 0-1 · 41st Olympiad Open 2014 · 2014-08-09
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2734) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2754) 1/2-1/2 · Levitov Chess Week Rapid · 2023-09-22
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) – GM Grigoriy Oparin (2683) 1-0 · Chess.com RCC Wk20 Swiss · 2022-07-09
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2636) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2740) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 5th Nov Late · 2024-11-05
- GM Maxim Matlakov (2695) – GM Philipp Schlosser (2612) 1/2-1/2 · 15th ch-EUR Indiv 2014 · 2014-03-06
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Romanishin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Barbashinigor (2318) – qutris (2391) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Svyatoslav19 (2348) – H3chiz3n (2279) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Bogdan666 (2170) – DCuppone (2165) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3
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, English Hybrid E20
- 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
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Carlsbad Variation E23
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Romanovsky Gambit E23
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.