Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Exchange Variation, Marshall Gambit
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Exchange Variation, Marshall Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3. 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 487 times by this move order. White won 45%, 5% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 4… Qxd4 (64% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.56 (Stockfish, depth 33; best line 4… Qxd4 5. Qe2 Nf6 6. Be3 Qd8 7. Nf3)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1b1kbnr/ppp1pppp/2n5/3q4/3P4/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 249 | |
| 1500-1999 | 217 | |
| 2000+ | 21 | |
| All | 487 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Qxd4 | 312 (64%) | |
| 4… Qe6+ | 58 (12%) | |
| 4… Qd8 | 57 (12%) | |
| 4… Qa5 | 34 (7%) | |
| 4… Nxd4 | 8 (2%) | |
| 4… Qd7 | 5 (1%) | |
| 4… Qd6 | 5 (1%) | |
| 4… Qf5 | 4 (1%) |
Master games
11 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 0%, Black 55%). The strongest:
- FM William Graif (2196) – GM Guha Mitrabha (2508) 1-0 · Titled Tue 27th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-27
- CM Joachim Le Geay (2210) – IM Nikolai Vlassov (2322) 0-1 · Titled Tue 31st Mar 2026 · 2026-03-31
- WIM Sopio Tereladze (2141) – IM Nikolai Vlassov (2352) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 20th Oct · 2020-10-20
- FM Ruslan Kavyev (2256) – Paul G M Lam (2115) 1-0 · Titled Tue 26th Nov Late · 2024-11-26
- CM Judah Nathan Levitan (1979) – Jude Shearsby (2164) 0-1 · Titled Tue 20th Aug Early · 2024-08-20
Highest-rated Lichess games
- macke72 (2205) – Ludvig-Carlsson (2590) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Mangwirolast (2332) – CM ReinaldoR (2348) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Sumer75 (2289) – Zodiac1985 (2380) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Exchange Variation 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5
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.