Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Spike Variation
1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. g4
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Spike Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. g4. 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 247 times by this move order. White won 51%, 2% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3… Bg7 (72% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.32 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 3… h6 4. e3 d5 5. h3 Bg7 6. c4)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppp1p/5np1/8/6P1/1P6/PBPPPP1P/RN1QKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. g4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 62 | |
| 1500-1999 | 126 | |
| 2000+ | 59 | |
| All | 247 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Bg7 | 178 (72%) | |
| 3… h6 | 52 (21%) | |
| 3… g5 | 7 (3%) | |
| 3… Bh6 | 4 (2%) | |
| 3… Rg8 | 2 (1%) | |
| 3… d6 | 2 (1%) | |
| 3… Nxg4 | 1 (0%) | |
| 3… h5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
96 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 49%, draw 10%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2682) – GM Alexey Sarana (2654) 1-0 · chess.com Junior Speed · 2020-09-21
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2682) – GM Alexey Sarana (2654) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Junior Speed · 2020-09-21
- GM Eltaj Safarli (2649) – GM Rauf Mamedov (2659) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-TUR Super League 2014 · 2014-08-27
- GM Alexey Sarana (2654) – GM Nihal Sarin (2620) 0-1 · chess.com Junior Speed · 2020-10-07
- GM Ruslan Ponomariov (2631) – GM Vladimir Baklan (2587) 1-0 · Gladiators May 18th-22nd · 2020-05-22
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Spike Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM CXCX83 (2590) – ArashNGM21 (2540) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- GM CXCX83 (2598) – ArashNGM21 (2532) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- FM Dregon_Defon (2511) – notolose (2415) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation 1. b3 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: 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
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.