Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E42, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 228 times by this move order. White won 50%, 9% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 5… cxd4 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.24 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5… d5 6. a3 Ba5 7. dxc5 dxc4 8. Bd2)
- ECO
- E42
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/2p5/1bPP4/2N1P3/PP2NPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 29 | |
| 2000+ | 198 | |
| All | 228 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… cxd4 | 78 (34%) | |
| 5… O-O | 57 (25%) | |
| 5… d5 | 36 (16%) | |
| 5… Nc6 | 24 (11%) | |
| 5… b6 | 23 (10%) | |
| 5… d6 | 7 (3%) | |
| 5… Ne4 | 3 (1%) |
Master games
1,179 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 30%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- KomodoDragon 2894.00 (3600) – Stockfish dev15_20220401 (3617) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-04-20
- Stockfish dev15_20220401 (3617) – KomodoDragon 2894.00 (3600) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-04-20
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) – GM So, W. (2760) 1/2-1/2 · 85th Tata Steel Masters · 2023-01-27
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2755) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) 1/2-1/2 · CCT Final KO 2024 · 2024-12-21
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2782) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2779) 1/2-1/2 · SuperUnited Blitz 2023 · 2023-07-08
Highest-rated Lichess games
- JAGMM (2634) – Meatloaf927 (2717) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- XxDrCheckmatexX (2611) – Meatloaf927 (2717) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Finite_Incantatem777 (2709) – khvichachess (2603) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System (4. e3 c5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation, Main Line E42 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2 cxd4 6. exd4 O-O 7. a3
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation, Sherbakov Attack E42 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Ne2 cxd4 6. exd4 O-O 7. c5
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.