Caissa Codex
E46

Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation

The Normal Variation is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O, Black's most flexible and most frequent answer to the Rubinstein System of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Read the guide

Chess diagram: Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation after 4…O-O

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Statistics from Lichess

736,878 games: White 48.2% / Draw 6.4% / Black 45.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
E47 341,055341K
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Reshevsky Variation 180,502181K
Nimzo-Indian Defense 107,577108K
54,28154K
32,58433K
12,32612K
2,8922,892
1,3981,398

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.10 The position is about equal

Best play: 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 c5 9. Ne2 Qc7

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 19K
1400–1799 127K
1800–2199 352K
2200 and up 299K
Masters, over the board 23K

Master games

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 27, 2026

Description

The Normal Variation is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O, Black's most flexible and most frequent answer to the Rubinstein System of the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Its main line is 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.O-O: White has completed kingside development, and Black has claimed a share of the centre.

Black's seventh move

  • 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nbd7, the Parma Variation, named after Bruno Parma. White usually plays 9.Qe2 to clear d1 for a rook and support the advance of the d-pawn.
  • 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 cxd4 9.exd4 b6, the Karpov Variation, one of Black's most reliable defences. White has an isolated d-pawn; Black plans ...Bxc3 at some point and then ...Bb7, ...Nbd7, ...Rc8 and ...Qc7 to restrain White's c- and d-pawns.
  • 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nc6 9.a3 Ba5, the Larsen Variation. Black waits for White to play dxc5 before taking on c3, and otherwise plays ...Bb6 against the d-pawn.
  • 7...Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Qc7, the main variation, enormously popular in the 1950s. Black equalises in all lines, but White has a huge choice of eleventh moves. Black plays a quick ...e5 against d4, while White tries to free the bishops by advancing the centre pawns.
  • 7...Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Qc7, the Khasin Variation, named after Abram Khasin.
  • 7...Nbd7, the Averbakh Variation, has gone out of fashion since the 1960s because of Svetozar Gligorić's gambit 8.cxd5 exd5 9.a3 Ba5 10.b4 cxb4 11.Nb5!

Lines with Ne2

Because the main line has held up well for Black, since the 1980s White has often put the king's knight on e2 instead of f3, so that it can recapture on c3 and avoid doubled pawns. The Reshevsky Variation, 5.Ne2, was a speciality of Samuel Reshevsky; its main line is 5...d5 6.a3 Be7 7.cxd5. In the Modern Variation, 5.Bd3 d5 6.Ne2, White develops the bishop first so the knight does not block it.

The numbers

On Lichess White wins 48.2% of the 737,000 games and Black 45.4%. The margin is small both under 1400, 49.9% against 46.9%, and from 2200 up, 48.0% against 44.1%. In 22,646 master games over the board 48.0% were drawn, White won 27.5% and Black 24.5%.

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How to play against the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation

The most played answer, 5. Bd3, also scores best for White: 52.1%, with White winning 49.0% and Black 44.8% of 341K games. Of the main answers, 5. Nf3 scores lowest: 49.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Bd3.

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 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.027% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.035% (its peak: 0.043% in 2018).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.035%12,457
20170.038%21,122
20180.043%33,943
20190.035%43,636
20200.032%94,602
20210.025%98,732
20220.026%98,870
20230.027%101,955
20240.026%94,126
20250.027%93,735
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.028%30,767

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)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…O-O, the position after Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System also goes on to:

All 24 named lines that continue from here

Sources

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation (E46)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-normal-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-normal-variation