Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Nimzowitsch Gambit
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5 Ne5
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Nimzowitsch Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5 Ne5. 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 128 times by this move order. White won 47%, 3% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nxe4 (41% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 5. Bf4 Ng6 6. Bg3 f5 7. Nh3 e5)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3Pn3/4p3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5 Ne5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 12 | |
| 1500-1999 | 48 | |
| 2000+ | 68 | |
| All | 128 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nxe4 | 52 (41%) | |
| 5. Qd4 | 37 (29%) | |
| 5. Bf4 | 29 (23%) | |
| 5. f3 | 4 (3%) | |
| 5. f4 | 2 (2%) | |
| 5. Bb5+ | 2 (2%) | |
| 5. Qh5 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5. h4 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
86 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 13%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Sam Shankland (2709) – GM Rinat Jumabayev (2637) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2021 · 2021-07-23
- GM Mahel Boyer (2520) – GM Pranesh M (2628) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 8th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-08
- FM Hector Luis Gil Alba (2295) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2803) 0-1 · Titled Tue 25th Feb Late · 2025-02-25
- GM Li Min Peng (2496) – GM Li, Di. (2552) 1/2-1/2 · 15th Hainan Danzhou GM · 2024-10-28
- GM Vladislav Kovalev (2612) – Antoni Kozak (2422) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Apr Early · 2023-04-04
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Malyshok2012 (2640) – andy2342 (2622) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- TrainingAccount678 (2478) – lackbiTe65 (2579) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- WBoar (2543) – Protonteampro (2504) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Van Geet Opening: Berlin Gambit 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5
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.