Tree path 3 levels Nimzo-Indian Defense › Rubinstein System › Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation
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- Nimzo-Indian Defense E20
- Rubinstein System E40
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation E46 you are here
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation
Overview
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation is a variation within the Indian Defenses family, indexed as ECO E46.
The Indian Defenses group covers Indian defences — hypermodern lines where Black challenges the centre with pieces rather than pawns.
It is reached after 8 plies of play, with the move sequence 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O.
It is a variation of Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, which itself descends from the root opening Nimzo-Indian Defense.
It branches into 4 notable variations — Nimzo-Indian Defense, Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Nimzo-Indian Defense: Reshevsky Variation, and others.
In total, the branch covers 24 sub-variations across all depths.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- E46
- Group
- Indian Defenses (E)
- Plies
- 8
- Direct variations
- 4
- Total in subtree
- 24
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
736,878 games · White 48.2% / Draw 6.4% / Black 45.4%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Bd3 | 341,055 | |
| Ne2 | 180,502 | |
| Nf3 | 107,577 | |
| Bd2 | 54,281 | |
| a3 | 32,584 | |
| Qc2 | 12,326 | |
| Qb3 | 2,892 | |
| Be2 | 1,398 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:57:23
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Variations (4)
Show all 24 sub-variations (full subtree)
- E50 Nimzo-Indian Defense 9-ply
- E47 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation 9-ply
- E46 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Reshevsky Variation 9-ply
- E28 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Sämisch Variation 11-ply
- E48 Classical Defense 10-ply
- E51 Normal Variation, Ragozin Variation 10-ply
- E46 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Simagin Variation 12-ply
- E43 Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 16-ply
- E49 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Botvinnik System 13-ply
- E53 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System 12-ply
- E52 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Schlechter Defense 12-ply
- E51 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Sämisch Deferred 11-ply
- E48 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Ragozin Defense 13-ply
- E59 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Bernstein Defense 21-ply
- E53 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System 14-ply
- E56 Bernstein Defense 14-ply
- E54 Exchange Variation 15-ply
- E53 Keres Variation 14-ply
- E51 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Ragozin Variation 14-ply
- E58 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Bernstein Defense, Exchange Line 17-ply
- E57 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense 18-ply
- E55 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bronstein Variation 16-ply
- E54 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Smyslov Variation 16-ply
- E59 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Bernstein Defense 19-ply