Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Stahlberg Variation (7. Bd2 Nxc5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc5
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Stahlberg Variation 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 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc5. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 8. Qc2 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.28 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 8. Qc2 a5 9. Rd1 O-O 10. a3 Bxc3)
- ECO
- E23
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pp1p1ppp/2n1p3/2n5/1bP5/1QN2N2/PP1BPPPP/R3KB1R w KQkq - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Qc2 | 2 (100%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 0%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- GM Leandro Krysa (2442) – CM Gerardo Fernandez Hernandez (2148) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-11
- Angelika Valkova (2075) – IM Justin Sarkar (2352) 0-1 · 9th Prague Summer Open · 2022-08-07
Highest-rated Lichess games
- pawner85729 (2196) – ViktorK1872 (2090) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 5s
- Raja_yadav_45 (1725) – dhepedeepak (1892) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Romanovsky Gambit 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Stahlberg Variation (8… f5 9. g3) E23 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc5 8. Qc2 f5 9. g3
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.