Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5. It is a line of the Nimzowitsch Defense. White is to move. 9 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 12,336 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 3. d5 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.69 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3. d5 Nce7 4. Nf3 Ng6 5. h4 h5)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p3/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2,646 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,302 | |
| 2000+ | 3,388 | |
| All | 12,336 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d5 Kennedy Variation, Linksspringer Variation | 9,303 (75%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 1,349 (11%) | |
| 3. dxe5 | 1,215 (10%) | |
| 3. c3 | 337 (3%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 32 (0%) | |
| 3. f4 | 27 (0%) | |
| 3. Be3 | 21 (0%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 19 (0%) |
Master games
364 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 17%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre (2615) – GM Pranesh M (2673) 0-1 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 13th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-13
- GM Pouya Idani (2572) – GM Dmitry Gordievsky (2653) 1-0 · 1st Longtou Cup 2018 · 2018-05-30
- GM Aleksander Delchev (2588) – GM Alexander Zubov (2612) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-TUR 1st League 2017 · 2017-07-23
- GM David Gavrilescu (2524) – GM David Anton Guijarro (2671) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 12th Mar Late · 2024-03-12
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2627) – GM Boris Savchenko (2552) 1-0 · Titled Arena Apr 3rd 2021 · 2021-04-03
Search all games of the Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ChessWarrior_222 (2824) – Rookz77 (2660) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GeForceExperience (2613) – Rookz77 (2684) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- FastMonkey456 (2749) – Zohaib_Gillani (2543) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense (1… Nc6 2. d4) 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4
Continuations
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Linksspringer Variation B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. d5
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Bielefelder Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Bc5
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, de Smet Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 d6
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Hammer Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 f6
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Herford Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Qh4
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Keres Attack B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. Nc3
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Paulsen Attack B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. Nf3
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Main Line B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. f4 Ng6
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Kennedy Variation, Riemann Defense B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. f4 Nc6
More Nimzowitsch Defense lines (all)
- Nimzowitsch Defense (1. e4 Nc6) 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
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Hornung 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.