Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System (3… Bb4 4. e3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System is a chess opening classified as ECO E40, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 5 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3,926 times by this move order. White won 49%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4… O-O (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.06 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… O-O 5. Nf3 d5 6. Bd2 b6 7. cxd5)
- ECO
- E40
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/1bPP4/2N1P3/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 158 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,385 | |
| 2000+ | 2,383 | |
| All | 3,926 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… O-O Normal Variation (4. e3 O-O) | 1,443 (37%) | |
| 4… c5 Rubinstein System (4. e3 c5) | 730 (19%) | |
| 4… b6 St. Petersburg Variation (4. e3 b6) | 655 (17%) | |
| 4… Bxc3+ | 409 (10%) | |
| 4… d5 | 362 (9%) | |
| 4… Ne4 | 265 (7%) | |
| 4… d6 | 22 (1%) | |
| 4… Nc6 Rubinstein System, Taimanov Variation | 14 (0%) |
Master games
2,207 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 21%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- Reckless 0.10.0-dev-b5462f11 (3763) – Stockfish dev-20260318-d173a06 (3807) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Superfinal 2026 · 2026-04-07
- Stockfish dev-20260318-d173a06 (3807) – Reckless 0.10.0-dev-b5462f11 (3763) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Superfinal 2026 · 2026-04-07
- LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3634) – Stockfishdev-20240513-e608eab8 (3662) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-05-25
- Stockfishdev-20240513-e608eab8 (3662) – LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3634) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-05-25
- Stockfishdev-20240413-c55ae376 (3657) – KomodoDragon3.3 (3592) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-05-10
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM cutemouse83 (2968) – tsunami10 (2810) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM cutemouse83 (2944) – feeblad (2830) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- GM cutemouse83 (2948) – GM Sigma_Tauri (2816) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense (3. Nc3 Bb4) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation (4. e3 O-O) E46 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System (4. e3 c5) E41 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Taimanov Variation E40 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 Nc6
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (4. e3 b6) E43 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (7. Bd3 Bb7) E43 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 Ne4 5. Qc2 f5 6. Nf3 b6 7. Bd3 Bb7
More Nimzo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- 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
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Carlsbad Variation 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.