Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (5… Bb7 6. Nf3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO E43, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3. It is a line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 110 times by this move order. White won 44%, 2% were drawn and Black won 54%. The most popular continuation is 6… O-O (44% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.18 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6… c5 7. O-O O-O 8. Na4 cxd4 9. exd4)
- ECO
- E43
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
rn1qk2r/pbpp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/1bPP4/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 3 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 41 | |
| 2000+ | 67 | |
| All | 110 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… O-O St. Petersburg Variation (6. Nf3 O-O) | 48 (44%) | |
| 6… Ne4 St. Petersburg Variation, with Ne4 | 28 (25%) | |
| 6… Bxc3+ | 17 (15%) | |
| 6… c5 | 6 (5%) | |
| 6… d6 | 5 (5%) | |
| 6… g5 | 2 (2%) | |
| 6… d5 | 2 (2%) | |
| 6… h6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
129 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 30%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista (2706) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2848) 1/2-1/2 · Cuadrangular UNAM 2012 · 2012-11-24
- GM Maxim Matlakov (2674) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2773) 0-1 · Chess.com RCC Wk12 Swiss · 2022-04-30
- GM Samuel Sevian (2688) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2729) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 9th Dec 2025 · 2025-12-09
- GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (2656) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2744) 0-1 · GCT Super Rapid Croatia · 2026-07-01
- GM Aram Hakobyan (2612) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) 1-0 · Titled Tue 15th Aug Late · 2023-08-15
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Squoznyak (2881) – IM Hripach007 (2710) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- tantgreta (2573) – LY0329 (2784) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- MIGV (2612) – quantumcorrection (2633) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (4. e3 b6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (6. Nf3 O-O) E43 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation, with Ne4 E43 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 Ne4
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.