Caissa Codex
E43

Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 8. Na4 Qe7

Chess diagram: Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation after 8…Qe7

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Statistics from Lichess

23 games: White 47.8% / Draw 8.7% / Black 43.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2222
11

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

Engine evaluation

+0.35 White is slightly better

Best play: 9. a3 Ba5 10. b3 d5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bb2 Nbd7 13. Rc1 Ne4

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

Overview

Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (ECO E43, 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 c5 6. Nf3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. Na4 Qe7 (8 moves).

In 23 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.8%, Black 43.5% and 8.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 9. a3, in 96% of those games. That is too few games for the percentages to mean much.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…c5 6. Nf3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. Na4 Qe7, the position after Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (E43)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-st-petersburg-variation-10

https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-st-petersburg-variation-10