Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E22, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,034 times by this move order. White won 47%, 6% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4… c5 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 65; best line 4… c5 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bg5 Nc6 7. e3)
- ECO
- E22
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/1bPP4/1QN5/PP2PPPP/R1B1KBNR b KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 73 | |
| 1500-1999 | 503 | |
| 2000+ | 458 | |
| All | 1,034 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… c5 | 419 (41%) | |
| 4… Bxc3+ | 351 (34%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 130 (13%) | |
| 4… a5 | 92 (9%) | |
| 4… Qe7 | 20 (2%) | |
| 4… Na6 | 7 (1%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 6 (1%) | |
| 4… Ba5 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
501 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 16%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Leon Livaic (2579) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2734) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 2nd May Late · 2023-05-02
- GM Alexander Shabalov (2563) – GM Igor Kovalenko (2684) 1/2-1/2 · 17th Puhajarve Rapid · 2016-11-26
- GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2548) – GM Vincent Keymer (2675) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Jun Late · 2022-06-28
- GM Vladimir Kosyrev (2520) – GM Anton Korobov (2693) 1-0 · European Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-19
- GM Gyula Pap (2481) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) 0-1 · Titled Tue 17th May Late · 2022-05-17
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Kesha05 (2601) – puretraining (2611) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM Angelicanmade (2578) – quantumcorrection (2620) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Kesha05 (2591) – FrankyRivers (2577) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense (3. Nc3 Bb4) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Romanovsky Gambit E23 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6
More Nimzo-Indian Defense lines (all)
- 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, Carlsbad Variation E23
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Spielmann Variation, Stahlberg Variation (7. Bd2 Nxc5) 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.