Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
283,525 games: White 48.0% / Draw 5.9% / Black 46.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 92,52193K | ||
| E44 | 80,14880K | |
| 56,19256K | ||
| 21,92022K | ||
| 14,74915K | ||
| 4,5734,573 | ||
| 4,0384,038 | ||
| 3,1213,121 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.31 White is slightly better
Best play: 5. Ne2 Ba6 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Nxc3 d5 8. b3 O-O 9. Be2 c5
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 worse this line does for Black: Black scores 50% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7,472 | |
| 1400–1799 | 56K | |
| 1800–2199 | 156K | |
| 2200 and up | 88K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5,188 |
Master games
- Kasparov, G. – Kramnik, V.
- Nakamura, H. – Caruana, F.
- Nakamura, H. – Firouzja, A.
- Bruzon Batista, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Abdusattorov, N. – Caruana, F.
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: St. Petersburg Variation (ECO E43, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 (4 moves).
In 283,525 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.0%, Black 46.0% and 5.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Bd3, in 33% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations. In all, 11 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation
5. Ne2 scores best for White: 54.3%, with White winning 50.9% and Black 42.3% of 80K games. The most played, 5. Bd3, scores 51.9% in 93K games, and 5. a3 scores lowest: 45.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Ne2.
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: St. Petersburg Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.01% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.017%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.017% | 6,017 |
| 2017 | 0.017% | 9,198 |
| 2018 | 0.018% | 13,845 |
| 2019 | 0.014% | 17,696 |
| 2020 | 0.013% | 37,597 |
| 2021 | 0.0095% | 36,999 |
| 2022 | 0.0097% | 36,365 |
| 2023 | 0.0098% | 36,786 |
| 2024 | 0.0096% | 34,574 |
| 2025 | 0.01% | 36,229 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.011% | 12,577 |
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 (2)
All 11 named lines that continue from here
- E43 St. Petersburg Variation 6 moves
- E44 St. Petersburg Variation 5 moves
- E43 St. Petersburg Variation 6 moves
- E44 American Variation 5 moves
- E45 Fischer Variation 5 moves
- E44 Romanishin–Psakhis Variation 6 moves
- E43 with Ne4 6 moves
- E43 St. Petersburg Variation 7 moves
- E52 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Schlechter Defense 7 moves
- E43 St. Petersburg Variation 7 moves
- E43 St. Petersburg Variation 9 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (E43)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-st-petersburg-variation