Nimzo-Indian Defense: Simagin Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Ne2 d5 6. a3 Bd6
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Simagin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E46, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Ne2 d5 6. a3 Bd6. 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 17 times by this move order. White won 47%, 6% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 7. c5 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 7. c5 Be7 8. b4 c6 9. Bb2 Nbd7)
- ECO
- E46
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rnbq1rk1/ppp2ppp/3bpn2/3p4/2PP4/P1N1P3/1P2NPPP/R1BQKB1R w KQ - 1 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Ne2 d5 6. a3 Bd6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 17 | |
| All | 17 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. c5 | 7 (41%) | |
| 7. cxd5 | 5 (29%) | |
| 7. Ng3 | 3 (18%) | |
| 7. Nf4 | 1 (6%) | |
| 7. g3 | 1 (6%) |
Master games
746 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 33%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM So, W. (2779) – GM Veselin Topalov (2816) 1/2-1/2 · 3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015 · 2015-08-31
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2835) – GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2758) 0-1 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-09
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2835) – GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2758) 1/2-1/2 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-07
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2816) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2759) 0-1 · GCT Blitz YourNextMove · 2018-06-15
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2782) – GM Boris Gelfand (2777) 0-1 · 5th Classic KO 2013 · 2013-12-14
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Simagin Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Alfilparanoico (2502) – General_Zod_02 (2502) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- kichot (2507) – Theoldulf (2444) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- afrik58 (2464) – Direktor_parka (2459) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Reshevsky Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Ne2
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.