Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Linksspringer Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. d5
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Linksspringer Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. d5. 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 9,303 times by this move order. White won 45%, 4% were drawn and Black won 51%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nce7 (85% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.73 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 3… Nce7 4. h4 Nf6 5. Bd3 h5 6. Bg5)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/3Pp3/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,999 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5,085 | |
| 2000+ | 2,219 | |
| All | 9,303 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nce7 | 7,887 (85%) | |
| 3… Nd4 | 847 (9%) | |
| 3… Nb8 | 288 (3%) | |
| 3… Nb4 | 163 (2%) | |
| 3… Na5 | 47 (1%) | |
| 3… Bb4+ | 34 (0%) | |
| 3… d6 | 10 (0%) | |
| 3… f5 | 5 (0%) |
Master games
518 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 11%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- GM Hao Wang (2730) – GM Alexander Zubov (2597) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2018 · 2018-12-26
- GM Nikita Vitiugov (2676) – GM Stuart C Conquest (2511) 0-1 · 111th ch-GBR 2025 · 2025-08-10
- GM Erik Blomqvist (2539) – GM Christian Bauer (2625) 1-0 · PRO League Group Stage · 2020-01-23
- GM Bilel Bellahcene (2518) – GM Maxime Lagarde (2638) 1/2-1/2 · C'Chartres Apr Blitz Open · 2021-04-10
- GM Bilel Bellahcene (2508) – GM Maxime Lagarde (2638) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 1st June · 2021-06-01
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ChessWarrior_222 (2824) – Rookz77 (2660) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- FastMonkey456 (2749) – Zohaib_Gillani (2543) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Andriy_2007 (2589) – Rookz77 (2695) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5
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 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
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.