Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Taimanov Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 Nc6
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Taimanov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E40, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 Nc6. 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 14 times by this move order. White won 36%, 7% were drawn and Black won 57%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bd3 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.47 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Bxc3+)
- ECO
- E40
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n1pn2/8/1bPP4/2N1P3/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6 | |
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 14 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bd3 | 7 (50%) | |
| 5. Ne2 | 4 (29%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 2 (14%) | |
| 5. a3 | 1 (7%) |
Master games
163 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 22%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2687) – GM V Pranav (2641) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Oct 2025 · 2025-10-28
- GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2632) – GM Samuel Sevian (2694) 0-1 · Titled Tue 29th Apr Early · 2025-04-29
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2663) – GM David Anton Guijarro (2642) 1-0 · FIDE World Bl Team 5-8th · 2025-06-15
- GM Pavel Eljanov (2668) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2606) 0-1 · Titled Tue 29th Apr Early · 2025-04-29
- IM Alexey Reshetnikov (2492) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2777) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Mar Early · 2025-03-18
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM rhungaski (2595) – QVC64 (2507) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- chessmangust (2352) – Chesskid1509 (2508) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 0s
- baer09 (2293) – Chessplayer1702 (2372) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System (3… Bb4 4. e3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3
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.