Nimzowitsch Defense: Mikenas Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d6
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Mikenas Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d6. 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 1,938 times by this move order. White won 53%, 3% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 3. d5 (44% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.60 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3. d5 Nb8 4. Nc3 g6 5. Be3 Bg7)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp1pppp/2np4/8/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 810 | |
| 1500-1999 | 928 | |
| 2000+ | 200 | |
| All | 1,938 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d5 | 847 (44%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 395 (20%) | |
| 3. c4 | 141 (7%) | |
| 3. Bb5 | 133 (7%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 129 (7%) | |
| 3. f4 | 86 (4%) | |
| 3. c3 | 52 (3%) | |
| 3. h3 | 39 (2%) |
Master games
412 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 13%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2731) – GM Christopher Woojin Yoo (2583) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 12th Mar Late · 2024-03-12
- GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2701) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2591) 1-0 · Titled Tue 19th Jul Early · 2022-07-19
- GM Axel Bachmann (2611) – GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2619) 0-1 · Titled Tue 22nd Aug Early · 2023-08-22
- GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara (2603) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2619) 1-0 · Titled Tue 30th Apr Early · 2024-04-30
- GM Parham Maghsoodloo (2703) – IM Dimitar Mardov (2504) 1-0 · Titled Tue 24th Dec Late · 2024-12-24
Search all games of the Nimzowitsch Defense: Mikenas Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- notkevich (2725) – SluchaynazPOBEDA (2561) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- livepage (2593) – GM Tayka (2680) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- bombokobombo123456 (2706) – SluchaynazPOBEDA (2555) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense (1… Nc6 2. d4) 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4
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.