Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Vehre Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Vehre Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6. 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 101 times by this move order. White won 56%, 2% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4. e5 (77% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.86 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 4. e5 Ng8 5. Bb5 e6 6. Nf3 a6)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/ppp1pppp/2n2n2/3p4/3PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 39 | |
| 1500-1999 | 23 | |
| 2000+ | 39 | |
| All | 101 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. e5 | 78 (77%) | |
| 4. exd5 | 13 (13%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4. Bb5 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4. Nxd5 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4. Bd2 | 1 (1%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
74 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 17%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) – Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) 1-0 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-31
- Stockfish 14_202107131735 (3639) – LCZero 0.28-dev+_69626 (3623) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 21 Superfinal 2021 · 2021-07-31
- IM Eric Rosen (2377) – GM Grigoriy Oparin (2653) 0-1 · Titled Tue 12th Nov Early · 2024-11-12
- IM Shyam, N. (2448) – GM Karthik Venkataraman (2527) 1/2-1/2 · 56th ch-IND 2018 · 2018-12-17
- GM Zhamsaran Tsydypov (2526) – IM Stefan Pogosyan (2407) 1/2-1/2 · ch-RUS Blitz 2021 · 2021-10-11
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM Arrowlimit (2551) – IM filolog (2687) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- FM GGplayer (2487) – rumiek (2330) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- scorpio2022 (2391) – Slahiraqi (2275) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation (2… d5 3. Nc3) 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3
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.