Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (3. c4 Nf6)
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6. 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 238 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 4. e3 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 Bc5 6. Nf5 d5)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/2P5/1P6/PB1PPPPP/RN1QKBNR w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. c4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 48 | |
| 1500-1999 | 88 | |
| 2000+ | 102 | |
| All | 238 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. e3 | 81 (34%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 52 (22%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 50 (21%) | |
| 4. g3 | 28 (12%) | |
| 4. d3 | 13 (5%) | |
| 4. a3 | 5 (2%) | |
| 4. e4 | 2 (1%) | |
| 4. Qc2 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
1,128 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 52%, draw 15%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2813) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Nov 2025 · 2025-11-04
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2776) 1-0 · FTX Crypto Cup Prelim · 2021-05-24
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) 1-0 · Magnus-Alireza Bullet · 2021-02-22
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2804) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2757) 1-0 · Titled Tue 6th May Early · 2025-05-06
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2804) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2736) 0-1 · Titled Tue 13th May Late · 2025-05-13
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM chessplayerpatzer (2689) – Soup_Maktavish_t (2667) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- CM titanshahmat2003 (2722) – discasting (2615) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- chess_tiger15 (2543) – IM shuriks91 (2768) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (2. Bb2 Nc6) 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6
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: Modern Variation (1. b3 e5) A01
- Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation (2… Nc6 3. e3) 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.