Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (2. Bb2 Nc6)
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6. It is a line of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 24,149 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3. e3 (52% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 h5)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p3/8/1P6/PBPPPPPP/RN1QKBNR w KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 9,667 | |
| 1500-1999 | 11,631 | |
| 2000+ | 2,851 | |
| All | 24,149 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. e3 Modern Variation (2… Nc6 3. e3) | 12,457 (52%) | |
| 3. g3 | 4,077 (17%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 2,529 (10%) | |
| 3. d3 | 1,397 (6%) | |
| 3. e4 | 1,193 (5%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 719 (3%) | |
| 3. c4 | 566 (2%) | |
| 3. a3 | 323 (1%) |
Master games
1,935 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 13%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- KomodoDragon 3.2 (3587) – SlowChess Blitz 2.9 avx2 (3418) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- SlowChess Blitz 2.9 avx2 (3418) – KomodoDragon 3.2 (3587) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2833) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Feb Late · 2025-02-25
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2853) – GM Gukesh D (2732) 0-1 · 11th Norway Blitz 2023 · 2023-05-29
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2859) – GM Gukesh D (2725) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2022 · 2022-12-06
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- KnightCheckShadow (3001) – spartak20 (2720) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM athena-pallada (2938) – josedavid321 (2645) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM athena-pallada (2897) – Skarr_song (2681) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Continuations
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (2… Nc6 3. e3) A01 · 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Pachman Gambit A01 · 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. f4
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (3. c4 Nf6) A01 · 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6
More Nimzo-Larsen Attack lines (all)
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack A01
- 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: Indian Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Polish Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Ringelbach Gambit A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Spike Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Symmetrical Variation A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation (1… d5 2. b3) A06
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Norfolk Gambit (2… c5 3. e4) A06
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.