Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Pin Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4 4. d4 d6 5. h3 Nh6 6. Bb5
The Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Pin Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4 4. d4 d6 5. h3 Nh6 6. Bb5. It is a line of the Nimzowitsch Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 6… Bd7 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.07 (Stockfish, depth 28; best line 6… a6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. Nc3 Ng8 9. O-O)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/ppp1pppp/2np3n/1B2P3/3P4/5N1P/PPP2PP1/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 6- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4 4. d4 d6 5. h3 Nh6 6. Bb5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 4 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… Bd7 | 2 (50%) | |
| 6… Nf5 | 1 (25%) | |
| 6… dxe5 | 1 (25%) |
Master games
18 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 28%, Black 22%). The strongest:
- FM Nikita Shandrygin (2209) – GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2692) 1-0 · Titled Tue 30th Sep 2025 · 2025-09-30
- IM Attila Istvan Csonka (2353) – FM Stefan Steiner (2337) 1-0 · TCh-AUT 2nd Mitte 2018-19 · 2018-11-25
- Boris Begelman (2229) – FM Angelo Damia (2417) 1/2-1/2 · 49th Italian Teams 2017 · 2017-04-28
- FM Frank Erwich (2358) – FM Olaf Steffens (2286) 1-0 · Atlantis Open 2015 · 2015-08-30
- Kristian Seegert (2249) – IM Christoph Scheerer (2363) 1-0 · Fredericia IM 2016 · 2016-05-07
Highest-rated Lichess games
- OgaNaMaster (2137) – mkcukerman (2147) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- TlesIslam_2016 (1925) – Bright_Njoka (1391) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 600 + 0s
- Pro3mk12 (1477) – suyash_kumare12 (1471) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4
More Nimzowitsch Defense lines (all)
- Nimzowitsch Defense (1. e4 Nc6) B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense (1… Nc6 2. d4) B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Colorado Countergambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Colorado Countergambit Accepted B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Declined Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, El Columpio Gambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Exchange 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.