Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Botvinnik Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. e3 O-O 8. cxd5 Nxd5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation, Botvinnik Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E24, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. e3 O-O 8. cxd5 Nxd5. 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 7 times by this move order. White won 43%, 0% were drawn and Black won 57%. The most popular continuation is 9. Bd2 (57% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.21 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 9. Ne2 Bd7 10. dxc5 Qa5 11. e4 Nf6)
- ECO
- E24
- Moves
- 16 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/pp3ppp/4p3/2pn4/3P4/P1P1PP2/6PP/R1BQKBNR w KQ - 0 9- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. e3 O-O 8. cxd5 Nxd5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 7 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9. Bd2 | 4 (57%) | |
| 9. dxc5 | 2 (29%) | |
| 9. Bb2 | 1 (14%) |
Master games
28 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 21%, draw 29%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2775) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2724) 0-1 · FIDE World Rapid 2014 · 2014-06-18
- GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2575) – GM Pentala Harikrishna (2705) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2022 · 2022-12-26
- IM Mihnea Costachi (2423) – GM Andrei Istratescu (2604) 1/2-1/2 · 10th Arad Open 2017 · 2017-08-13
- IM Ilja Derjabin (2353) – GM Boris Savchenko (2535) 0-1 · Pearl Lobanov Mem Blitz · 2021-10-09
- IM Petter Haugli (2247) – GM Simen Agdestein (2620) 0-1 · Fagernes GM Open 2015 · 2015-04-03
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM camaronbrujo20 (2428) – Stallion28 (2548) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- rusert13 (2446) – ControlledPlayer (2418) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- ecolefrancaise (2473) – MadDimon (2385) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Kmoch Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3
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.