Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 e5
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 e5. It is a line of the Nimzowitsch Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 64 times by this move order. White won 52%, 6% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4. d5 (58% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.08 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 4. dxe5 Nxe5 5. f4 Ng6 6. e5 Ng8)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 21 | |
| 1500-1999 | 26 | |
| 2000+ | 17 | |
| All | 64 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d5 | 37 (58%) | |
| 4. dxe5 | 19 (30%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 7 (11%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
21 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 9%, Black 48%). The strongest:
- GM Artur Gabrielian (2458) – FM Orest Vovk (2315) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 10th Nov · 2020-11-10
- IM Ladislav Langner (2380) – FM Orest Vovk (2315) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 18th May · 2021-05-18
- GM Bryan Smith (2386) – FM Csaba Zoltan Varga (2235) 1-0 · Vezerkepzo IM Autumn 2023 · 2023-10-20
- IM Dawid Czerw (2362) – FM Mukund Hemant Agarwal (2211) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-06
- FM Joran Aulin-Jansson (2215) – FM Orest Vovk (2315) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 6th Apr · 2021-04-06
Search all games of the Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SuleimanovBulat (2265) – tulumsanatcisi (2422) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- colceho (2387) – anas_mjlk (2296) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Prince-M (2200) – Ptschuks1 (2241) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense (1. e4 Nc6) 1. e4 Nc6
More Nimzowitsch Defense lines (all)
- Nimzowitsch Defense (1… Nc6 2. d4) B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Colorado Countergambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Colorado Countergambit Accepted B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Declined Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, El Columpio Gambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Exchange Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Pin Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Franco-Nimzowitsch Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: French Connection B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Hornung Gambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation B00
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.