Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Graz Attack
1. b3 d5 2. Ba3
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Graz Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 d5 2. Ba3. It is a line of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 502 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nf6 (26% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.42 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 2… e5 3. Bxf8 Kxf8 4. d4 e4 5. c4)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3p4/8/BP6/P1PPPPPP/RN1QKBNR b KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. b3 d5 2. Ba3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 211 | |
| 1500-1999 | 278 | |
| 2000+ | 13 | |
| All | 502 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nf6 | 131 (26%) | |
| 2… Nc6 | 88 (18%) | |
| 2… e5 | 69 (14%) | |
| 2… Bf5 | 49 (10%) | |
| 2… b6 | 30 (6%) | |
| 2… c6 | 29 (6%) | |
| 2… c5 | 21 (4%) | |
| 2… e6 | 21 (4%) |
Master games
6 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 17%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- GM Dmitry Andreikin (2729) – GM Benjamin Bok (2620) 0-1 · Titled Tue 19th Mar Late · 2024-03-19
- GM Oskar Wieczorek (2500) – IM Jonathan Carlstedt (2453) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Jun Late · 2023-06-13
- GM Oskar Wieczorek (2500) – IM Olga Badelka (2388) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Jun Late · 2023-06-13
- Saranya Devi Narahari (1743) – WGM Xeniya Balabayeva (2335) 0-1 · Swiss Queens Wed #43 2024 · 2024-11-20
- Philippe Drouin (1303) – Paul Vekemans (1781) 0-1 · 11th La Fere Open · 2012-07-14
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Graz Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- topo_san (2199) – dano12 (2061) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- yasinhema (2097) – sambal_pedas (2087) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- XD0003 (1995) – capivarauniversal (2114) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation (1. b3 d5) 1. b3 d5
More Nimzo-Larsen Attack lines (all)
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Dutch Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: English Variation 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.