Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 4…b6 5. Ne2
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Statistics from Lichess
80,325 games: White 50.8% / Draw 6.9% / Black 42.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 51,23751K | ||
| Fischer Variation | 13,46413K | |
| 5,5865,586 | ||
| American Variation | 5,5025,502 | |
| 3,5253,525 | ||
| 540540 | ||
| 185185 | ||
| 118118 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.31 White is slightly better
Best play: 5... O-O 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Nxc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. b4 Re8 10. Be2
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 E44, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Ne2 (5 moves).
In 80,325 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.8%, Black 42.3% and 6.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bb7, in 64% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation, Fischer Variation and Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation, Romanishin–Psakhis Variation.
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How to answer 5. Ne2
5…Ba6 (Fischer Variation) scores best for Black: 49.0%, with Black winning 44.8% and White 46.7% of 13K games. The most played answer, 5…Bb7, scores lowest: 44.5% in 51K games. Stockfish's first choice is 5…O-O.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Variations (3)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (E44)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-st-petersburg-variation-2