Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation, Main Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2 cxd4 6. exd4 O-O 7. a3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation, Main Line is a chess opening classified as ECO E42, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2 cxd4 6. exd4 O-O 7. a3. 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 19 times by this move order. White won 47%, 21% were drawn and Black won 32%. The most popular continuation is 7… Be7 (89% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.39 (Stockfish, depth 35; best line 7… Be7 8. d5 exd5 9. cxd5 Re8 10. Be3)
- ECO
- E42
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/8/1bPP4/P1N5/1P2NPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQ - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2 cxd4 6. exd4 O-O 7. a3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 18 | |
| All | 19 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Be7 | 17 (89%) | |
| 7… Ba5 | 1 (5%) | |
| 7… d5 | 1 (5%) |
Master games
251 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 33%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-16
- Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-16
- GM Nikita Vitiugov (2719) – GM Alexander Morozevich (2739) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2013 · 2013-08-19
- GM David Navara (2744) – GM Jacek Tomczak (2588) 1-0 · 8th Lublin GM 2016 · 2016-06-15
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2669) – GM Alexey Sarana (2640) 0-1 · 34th Leon Blitz Final · 2021-07-07
Highest-rated Lichess games
- JAGMM (2628) – VoinTeka (2605) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- IM plamia (2558) – D4556A (2478) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Woodenmouse (2453) – infection (2490) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2
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.