Mikenas Defense
The Mikenas Defense is 1.d4 Nc6: Black answers the queen's pawn with the queen's knight. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
4,074,255 games: White 49.4% / Draw 4.6% / Black 46.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,042,5601M | ||
| 983,678984K | ||
| 728,697729K | ||
| 476,472476K | ||
| 292,396292K | ||
| Nimzowitsch Defense | 205,953206K | |
| 131,445131K | ||
| 75,94376K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.90 White is better
Best play: 2. d5 Ne5 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 exd5 5. Qxd5 d6 6. Be3 c6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 44% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 41% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 473K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,680 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Giri, A. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Ding, L. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- So, W. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
- Fressinet, L. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Description
The Mikenas Defense is 1.d4 Nc6: Black answers the queen's pawn with the queen's knight. It is also known as the Bogoljubov–Mikenas Defense, the Queen's Knight Defense, the Nimzowitsch Queen Pawn Defense and the Lundin Defense, and is classified as A40 unless it transposes into another opening.
Origins
Hypermodern players such as Aron Nimzowitsch and Efim Bogoljubov tried 1...Nc6 against 1.d4, but it has never become very popular. The move is committal: it blocks Black's c-pawn, and usually Black waits to play ...Nc6 until White's set-up is clear.
The idea
Black is ready to play ...e5 on the next move, so White cannot ignore the knight. Most games with 1.d4 Nc6 transpose into other openings, and Black has to be ready for all of them.
Main lines
- 2.e4 gives the Nimzowitsch Defense.
- 2.c4 d5 is the Chigorin Defense of the Queen's Gambit. After 2.c4 e5 3.d5 the knight retreats: 3...Nce7 is the Lithuanian Variation.
- 2.Nf3 is the practical choice for White, looking for a position with a theoretical advantage. Black then has two main replies. 2...d6 can lead to the Pirc Defense after ...g6 and e4, or to the King's Indian Defense if White plays an early c4. 2...e6 can transpose to the Nimzo-Indian, the Bogo-Indian or the Chigorin if White plays c4 at once.
- 2.d5 is the line that belongs to this opening alone: it chases the knight away, usually to e5. The position resembles an Alekhine Defense on the other side of the board. In an opening book by Sid Pickard this line was called the "Bozo-Indian", from "Nimzo" and "Bogo", although it is not an Indian opening. The retreat 2...Nb8 has its own name on this site, the Montevideo Defense.
Who should play it
After 1.d4 Nc6 Black has to be ready for many different continuations. Since most games transpose, a player who uses it needs to be at home in the Nimzowitsch, the Chigorin and the Indian set-ups alike.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 49.4% of the 4.1 million games and Black 46.0%. Lower down, White does better: under 1400 White wins 53.3% against 41.9%, and between 1400 and 1799 55.0% against 41.1%. Between 1800 and 2199 Black is slightly ahead, 47.9% against 47.6%, and from 2200 up White wins 47.1% and Black 46.1%. In 1,680 master games over the board White won 43.8%, Black 26.1%, and 30.1% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Mikenas Defense
2. Nf3 scores best for White: 54.1%, with White winning 51.5% and Black 43.2% of 984K games. The most played answer, 2. c4, scores lowest: 49.5% in 1M games. Stockfish's first choice is 2. d5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Mikenas Defense dipped to 0.14% of Lichess games in 2017 and has recovered since: 0.18% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.15% | 53,766 |
| 2017 | 0.14% | 79,384 |
| 2018 | 0.15% | 116,651 |
| 2019 | 0.15% | 189,129 |
| 2020 | 0.15% | 431,979 |
| 2021 | 0.14% | 565,857 |
| 2022 | 0.15% | 549,749 |
| 2023 | 0.15% | 571,950 |
| 2024 | 0.18% | 633,032 |
| 2025 | 0.18% | 613,595 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.18% | 198,735 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (4)
Transpositions
All 5 named lines that continue from here
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Bogoljubov–Mikenas Defense, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Mikenas Defense (A40)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/mikenas-defense