Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Polish Variation
1. b3 b5
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Polish Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 b5. 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 331 times by this move order. White won 55%, 5% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 2. Bb2 (81% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.35 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 2. e4 Bb7 3. Bxb5 Bxe4 4. Nf3 e6)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/p1pppppp/8/1p6/8/1P6/P1PPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. b3 b5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 166 | |
| 1500-1999 | 118 | |
| 2000+ | 47 | |
| All | 331 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Bb2 | 268 (81%) | |
| 2. g3 | 12 (4%) | |
| 2. e3 | 10 (3%) | |
| 2. Ba3 | 10 (3%) | |
| 2. e4 | 7 (2%) | |
| 2. d3 | 6 (2%) | |
| 2. a4 | 5 (2%) | |
| 2. c4 | 3 (1%) |
Master games
72 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 11%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Guillermo Vazquez (2575) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2852) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th Mar Late · 2023-03-07
- GM Paulius Pultinevicius (2579) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2703) 0-1 · Titled Tue 24th Dec Late · 2024-12-24
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) – IM Alfonso Llorente Zaro (2444) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Dec Early · 2024-12-10
- GM Robert Hess (2591) – GM Ivan Ivanisevic (2599) 1-0 · Titled Tue 22nd Feb Early · 2022-02-22
- GM Ruifeng Li (2541) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2618) 1-0 · Titled Tue 21st Mar Late · 2023-03-21
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Polish Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM DaniloBesedes (2593) – GM Atomrod (2558) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Jigglypuufff (2365) – Servantik1979 (2503) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IvanKalajzic (2334) – Servantik1979 (2502) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 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: 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. 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: 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.