Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense
1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4
The Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4. It is a line of the Nimzowitsch Defense. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 289 times by this move order. White won 49%, 3% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4. d4 (71% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.13 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 4. d4 d6 5. h3 Nh6 6. Nc3 a6)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppppppp/2n5/4P3/6n1/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 165 | |
| 1500-1999 | 106 | |
| 2000+ | 18 | |
| All | 289 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d4 | 206 (71%) | |
| 4. h3 | 38 (13%) | |
| 4. Qe2 | 9 (3%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 9 (3%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 7 (2%) | |
| 4. Bb5 | 6 (2%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 5 (2%) | |
| 4. Be2 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
42 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 64%, draw 10%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- IM Wei Ming Kevin Goh (2472) – GM Jayson Gonzales (2364) 1-0 · Japfa IGM 2018 · 2018-04-26
- GM Simen Agdestein (2603) – Jesper Schultz-Pedersen (2121) 1-0 · Xtracon Chess Open 2016 · 2016-07-24
- IM Robert Baskin (2390) – FM Martynas Limontas (2301) 1-0 · Titled Tue 4th Aug 10am · 2020-08-04
- IM Prasanna Raghuram Rao (2410) – CM Hoang Nam Nguyen (2281) 1-0 · 4th HD Bank Cup 2014 · 2014-03-13
- WGM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (2327) – FM Martynas Limontas (2311) 0-1 · Gipslis Memorial Blitz · 2021-02-13
Search all games of the Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- blackmax3 (2191) – BlixLT (2350) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- guixgoliat (2301) – deeplooking (2210) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- melastry (2138) – BlixLT (2345) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense: Declined Variation 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3
Continuations
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, El Columpio Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4 4. d4 d6 5. h3 Nh6 6. e6
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Exchange Variation B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4 4. d4 d6 5. h3 Nh6 6. exd6
- Nimzowitsch Defense: El Columpio Defense, Pin Variation B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Ng4 4. d4 d6 5. h3 Nh6 6. Bb5
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: Franco-Nimzowitsch Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: French Connection B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Hornung Gambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Bielefelder Gambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Hammer Gambit B00
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Herford Gambit 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.