Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation (5… Bxc3+ 6. bxc3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E28, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3. 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 95 times by this move order. White won 45%, 8% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 6… c5 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6… d6 7. Bd3 e5 8. e4 exd4 9. cxd4)
- ECO
- E28
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/2PP4/P1P1P3/5PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQ - 0 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 21 | |
| 2000+ | 71 | |
| All | 95 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… c5 | 39 (41%) | |
| 6… b6 | 17 (18%) | |
| 6… d6 | 14 (15%) | |
| 6… d5 | 13 (14%) | |
| 6… Re8 | 5 (5%) | |
| 6… Nc6 | 4 (4%) | |
| 6… Ne4 | 3 (3%) |
Master games
1,146 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 20%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2805) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 5th Nov Early · 2024-11-05
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2766) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com SpeedChess 2022 · 2022-12-13
- GM Liren Ding (2788) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2795) 1/2-1/2 · WCh 2023 · 2023-04-20
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2789) – GM Praggnanandhaa R (2771) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2025 · 2025-10-30
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2796) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2744) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2024 · 2024-08-06
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- dimaremi (2740) – elconceto (2805) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- dimaremi (2716) – GM Dragso (2748) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- AnonymousBrownGuy (2723) – Tempstream (2726) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation (4. e3 O-O) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O
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.