Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Symmetrical Variation
1. b3 b6
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Symmetrical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A01, reached after 1. b3 b6. 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 3,445 times by this move order. White won 50%, 6% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 2. Bb2 (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.21 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 2. Bb2 Bb7 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 g6)
- ECO
- A01
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/p1pppppp/1p6/8/8/1P6/P1PPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. b3 b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,037 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,851 | |
| 2000+ | 557 | |
| All | 3,445 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Bb2 | 3,133 (91%) | |
| 2. e3 | 59 (2%) | |
| 2. g3 | 51 (1%) | |
| 2. Ba3 | 43 (1%) | |
| 2. e4 | 37 (1%) | |
| 2. Nf3 | 30 (1%) | |
| 2. c4 | 22 (1%) | |
| 2. f3 | 13 (0%) |
Master games
953 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 16%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) – GM So, W. (2778) 1-0 · Meltwater Tour Final 2021 · 2021-10-04
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2775) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2829) 1-0 · 6th London CC Elite Blitz 2014 · 2014-12-08
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2782) – GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2789) 1/2-1/2 · 6th Norway Blitz 2018 · 2018-05-27
- GM Praggnanandhaa R (2758) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2804) 1-0 · Titled Tue 20th May Late · 2025-05-20
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2792) – GM Teimour Radjabov (2765) 1-0 · FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021 · 2021-05-31
Search all games of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Symmetrical Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nut5105 (2684) – FM Guary1 (2886) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- IM nickVet (2691) – IM Aphelios00 (2708) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- AlwaysLookingForMore (2669) – Kayra_Kamer (2696) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 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: 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.