Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (6. Nf3 O-O)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O
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 O-O. 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 48 times by this move order. White won 50%, 2% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 7. O-O (92% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7. O-O d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Qc2 Nbd7)
- ECO
- E43
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
rn1q1rk1/pbpp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/1bPP4/2NBPN2/PP3PPP/R1BQK2R w KQ - 4 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 15 | |
| 2000+ | 32 | |
| All | 48 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. O-O St. Petersburg Variation (6… O-O 7. O-O) | 44 (92%) | |
| 7. Bd2 | 3 (6%) | |
| 7. a3 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
65 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 23%, Black 28%). The strongest:
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2643) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2833) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Mar Late · 2025-03-04
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2670) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) 0-1 · Titled Tue 15th Aug Early · 2023-08-15
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2657) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2701) 0-1 · World Blitz 2022 · 2022-12-29
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2660) – GM David Anton Guijarro (2690) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Apr Late · 2023-04-18
- GM Matthias Bluebaum (2647) – GM Grigoriy Oparin (2676) 1-0 · Titled Tue 14th May Early · 2024-05-14
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
- MIGV (2612) – quantumcorrection (2633) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- uhumbuheev (2512) – Knightrider6767 (2725) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
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
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (6… O-O 7. O-O) E43 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O
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.