Nimzowitsch Defense: Wheeler Gambit
1. e4 Nc6 2. b4
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Wheeler Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. b4. 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 30 times by this move order. White won 37%, 13% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nxb4 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.59 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 2… Nxb4 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. c3)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppppppp/2n5/8/1P2P3/8/P1PP1PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. b4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 14 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9 | |
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 30 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nxb4 | 15 (50%) | |
| 2… e5 | 6 (20%) | |
| 2… a6 | 3 (10%) | |
| 2… b5 | 2 (7%) | |
| 2… e6 | 2 (7%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 1 (3%) | |
| 2… d6 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
16 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 31%, draw 19%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) – LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-05
- LCZero 0.30-dag-9a9c42d_784968 (3599) – Stockfish dev16_20221027 (3625) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Superfinal 2022 · 2022-11-04
- CM Volen Dyulgerov (2181) – GM Aleksandar Indjic (2616) 0-1 · Titled Tue 21st Apr 2026 · 2026-04-21
- GM Simon K Williams (2455) – FM Roman Goldin (2285) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th May 2026 · 2026-05-05
- IM Adrian Martinez Fernandez (2421) – FM Ruslan Gabdushev (2256) 0-1 · Titled Tue 3rd Oct Late · 2023-10-03
Search all games of the Nimzowitsch Defense: Wheeler Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- sixpackmillionaire (2197) – Unicum (2275) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- UniformColt (2195) – zhull_ress (2196) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- Vladislav_Solodov (2166) – JEVH1987 (2191) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense (1. e4 Nc6) 1. e4 Nc6
More Nimzowitsch Defense lines (all)
- 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
- 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.