Nimzowitsch Defense: Woodchuck Variation
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 a6
The Nimzowitsch Defense: Woodchuck Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 a6. 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 198 times by this move order. White won 47%, 4% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 3. d5 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.78 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 3. d5 Nb8 4. Nf3 d6 5. c4 g6)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/1ppppppp/p1n5/8/3PP3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 a6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 117 | |
| 1500-1999 | 79 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 198 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d5 | 95 (48%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 41 (21%) | |
| 3. f4 | 12 (6%) | |
| 3. c4 | 11 (6%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 9 (5%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 7 (4%) | |
| 3. c3 | 7 (4%) | |
| 3. e5 | 5 (3%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 0%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- Sergio Damian Schualle (2050) – IM Jakub Pulpan (2407) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th Jan Late · 2025-01-14
- WFM Wilsaida Pieranlly Diaz Cesar (1892) – IM Jose Francisco R P Neves Veiga (2388) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Mar Late · 2025-03-25
Search all games of the Nimzowitsch Defense: Woodchuck Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MityshevS (2340) – IM Jheronimo (2351) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- printhellochess (2336) – dsxf (2290) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- mehranastineh (2019) – emmacent91 (1878) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 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.