Nimzo-Larsen Attack: English Variation
1. b3 c5
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: English Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 c5. It is a line of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 6,846 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 2. Bb2 (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 g6)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/8/1P6/P1PPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. b3 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,620 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3,910 | |
| 2000+ | 1,316 | |
| All | 6,846 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Bb2 | 6,241 (91%) | |
| 2. e3 | 135 (2%) | |
| 2. g3 | 101 (1%) | |
| 2. Ba3 | 95 (1%) | |
| 2. c4 | 89 (1%) | |
| 2. e4 | 38 (1%) | |
| 2. Nf3 | 37 (1%) | |
| 2. d3 | 25 (0%) |
Master games
1,662 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 16%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM So, W. (2815) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2017 · 2017-11-18
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2833) 1/2-1/2 · Chessable Masters Winners · 2025-02-21
- GM Vladislav Artemiev (2708) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 2020 · 2020-12-03
- GM Praggnanandhaa R (2785) – GM Levon Aronian (2744) 0-1 · GCT Finals 2025 · 2025-10-03
- GM Praggnanandhaa R (2779) – GM Anish Giri (2748) 0-1 · SuperUnited CRO Blitz 2025 · 2025-07-06
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: English Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM athena-pallada (2921) – johnsam1 (2724) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM nickVet (2686) – NM tufferguy (2739) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM Amirreza_p (2716) – Kesha05 (2596) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 1. b3
More Nimzo-Larsen Attack lines (all)
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation (1. b3 d5) A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Dutch Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Graz Attack A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (1. b3 e5) A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (2. Bb2 Nc6) A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (2… Nc6 3. e3) A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (3. c4 Nf6) A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Pachman Gambit A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Polish Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Ringelbach Gambit A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Spike Variation A01
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.