Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (4. e3 b6)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6
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. 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 655 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bd3 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 5. Ne2 Ba6 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Nxc3 d5)
- ECO
- E43
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/p1pp1ppp/1p2pn2/8/1bPP4/2N1P3/PP3PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 15 | |
| 1500-1999 | 225 | |
| 2000+ | 415 | |
| All | 655 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bd3 | 246 (38%) | |
| 5. Ne2 St. Petersburg Variation (4… b6 5. Ne2) | 212 (32%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 109 (17%) | |
| 5. Bd2 | 38 (6%) | |
| 5. a3 | 25 (4%) | |
| 5. Qc2 | 10 (2%) | |
| 5. Be2 | 7 (1%) | |
| 5. Qf3 | 3 (0%) |
Master games
1,117 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 19%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2767) 1/2-1/2 · SpeedChess Final 2024 · 2024-09-06
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2727) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2794) 0-1 · CCT Final Survival Winner · 2023-12-12
- GM Alexey Sarana (2717) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2796) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com SpeedChess 2024 · 2024-07-31
- GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2705) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2792) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 9th Jul 2026 · 2026-07-09
- GM Hao Wang (2737) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2760) 1/2-1/2 · SportAccord Blitz Men 2012 · 2012-12-16
Search all games of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Squoznyak (2898) – IM Hripach007 (2699) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- FM Squoznyak (2881) – IM Hripach007 (2710) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- anhbutk (2678) – Jakebr8 (2860) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System (3… Bb4 4. e3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3
Continuations
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (4… b6 5. Ne2) E44 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Ne2
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (5… Bb7 6. Nf3) E43 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3
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.