E48

Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Classical Defense

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

231,134 games: White 49.5% / Draw 6.0% / Black 44.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	84,29484K
	74,25874K
	31,87032K
	29,34829K
	3,5553,555
	3,3373,337
	2,2652,265
	1,0501,050

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.11 The position is about equal

Best play: 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4 Nc6 9. a3 Ba5 10. dxc5 Bxc3

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 46% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	9,106
1400–1799	51K
1800–2199	114K
2200 and up	83K
Masters, over the board	11K

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

Overview

Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Classical Defense (ECO E48, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 (5 moves).

In 231,134 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 44.5% and 6.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. Ne2, in 36% of those games.

It branches into 4 named variations; the most played are Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System and Nimzo-Indian Defense: Ragozin Defense. In all, 15 named lines continue from it.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake

What would you like to send? A description of this line A mistake on this page (moves, name, statistics…)

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Your name (optional) Your email (optional, not published)

Description

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

6. a3 scores best for White: 54.9%, with White winning 51.6% and Black 41.9% of 29K games. The most played, 6. Ne2, scores 52.3% in 84K games, and 6. Nf3 scores lowest: 52.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. Nf3.

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, Classical Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.012% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0092% in 2025.

0.0091%0.0092%0.012%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0091%	3,238
2017	0.011%	5,941
2018	0.012%	9,350
2019	0.0098%	12,244
2020	0.0092%	26,923
2021	0.0077%	30,126
2022	0.0084%	31,670
2023	0.0088%	33,256
2024	0.0089%	32,038
2025	0.0092%	31,852
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0095%	10,461

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)

All 15 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Classical Defense (E48)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-normal-variation-classical-defense