Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation (6… c5 7. cxd5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E25, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 75 times by this move order. White won 39%, 8% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 7… exd5 (56% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.09 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 7… exd5 8. e3 O-O 9. Bd3 Re8 10. Ne2)
- ECO
- E25
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp3ppp/4pn2/2pP4/3P4/P1P2P2/4P1PP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4 | |
| 2000+ | 70 | |
| All | 75 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… exd5 | 42 (56%) | |
| 7… Nxd5 | 32 (43%) | |
| 7… e5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
395 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 20%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2775) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2870) 0-1 · WCh 2013 · 2013-11-21
- GM Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2695) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2777) 1-0 · 81st Tata Steel GpA · 2019-01-23
- GM Alexey Sarana (2691) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2742) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 26th Aug Early · 2025-08-26
- GM Sergey Volkov (2609) – GM Evgeny Alekseev (2636) 1-0 · Chigorin Memorial 2016 · 2016-10-20
- GM Li Chao2 (2720) – GM Jun Xu (2514) 1-0 · CHN Team Men 2017 · 2017-06-08
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- tractorchampion001 (2747) – Fettywapest (2726) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SporiJoe (2443) – Stallion28 (2570) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Sombralos (2486) – NM IamNeneu (2462) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Kmoch Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Keres Variation E25 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5
More Nimzo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- Nimzo-Indian Defense (3. Nc3 Bb4) E20
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Dilworth Gambit 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.