Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation
1. b3 Nf6
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 Nf6. It is a line of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack. 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 13,107 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 2. Bb2 (93% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.11 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 2. Bb2 c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 g6)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/5n2/8/8/1P6/P1PPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. b3 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2,672 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,900 | |
| 2000+ | 3,535 | |
| All | 13,107 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Bb2 | 12,175 (93%) | |
| 2. e3 | 234 (2%) | |
| 2. g3 | 159 (1%) | |
| 2. Ba3 | 119 (1%) | |
| 2. c4 | 100 (1%) | |
| 2. Nf3 | 69 (1%) | |
| 2. d3 | 45 (0%) | |
| 2. d4 | 40 (0%) |
Master games
6,687 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 51%, draw 15%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.29-dev+_781561 (3586) – Stockfish dev15_20220302 (3612) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-21
- Stockfish dev15_20220302 (3612) – LCZero 0.29-dev+_781561 (3586) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-19
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2853) 0-1 · chess.com Blitz Final 3m+2spm 2016 · 2016-10-27
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2786) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 3m+2spm 2017 · 2018-01-03
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2786) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 3m+2spm 2017 · 2018-01-03
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Pookinator (2796) – IM shuriks91 (2812) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM Emma-Chess (2747) – GM sillyMASTER (2837) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM athena-pallada (2887) – Kruciatos (2675) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Larsen Attack 1. b3
Continuations
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Spike Variation A01 · 1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. g4
More Nimzo-Larsen Attack lines (all)
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation (1. b3 d5) A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Dutch Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: English Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Graz Attack 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: Symmetrical 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.