Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Romanovsky Gambit
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Romanovsky Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO E23, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 43 times by this move order. White won 42%, 9% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 6. Nf3 (63% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 6. Nf3 O-O 7. a3 Bxc5 8. Bg5 h6)
- ECO
- E23
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pp1p1ppp/2n1pn2/2P5/1bP5/1QN5/PP2PPPP/R1B1KBNR w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 13 | |
| 2000+ | 29 | |
| All | 43 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Nf3 | 27 (63%) | |
| 6. e3 | 8 (19%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 3 (7%) | |
| 6. a3 | 3 (7%) | |
| 6. Bd2 | 1 (2%) | |
| 6. g3 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
92 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 20%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Jianchao Zhou (2612) – GM Yi Wei (2700) 1/2-1/2 · ch-CHN 2016 · 2016-04-20
- GM Vladimir Epishin (2527) – GM Evgeny Alekseev (2619) 1/2-1/2 · 94th ch-St Petersburg · 2021-04-02
- GM Vladislav Artemiev (2653) – GM Vahap Sanal (2474) 1-0 · World Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-27
- GM Dmitriy Khegay (2528) – GM Elshan Moradiabadi (2555) 1/2-1/2 · 1st Ismagambetov Mem 2020 · 2020-06-26
- FM Alexandros Papasimakopoulos (2379) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2695) 0-1 · Titled Tue 3rd Dec Late · 2024-12-03
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kesha05 (2601) – puretraining (2611) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- fapasimovic (2570) – Barselona_forever5 (2508) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Gukkoff (2485) – MyLittleHorsie (2527) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Carlsbad Variation E23 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxd2
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Stahlberg Variation (7. Bd2 Nxc5) E23 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc5
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, Stahlberg Variation (8… f5 9. g3) 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.