Tree path 4 levels Nimzo-Indian Defense › Rubinstein System › Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation › Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation
- Chess Codex
- Nimzo-Indian Defense E20
- Rubinstein System E40
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation E43
- Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation E43 you are here
Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation
Overview
Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation is a variation within the Indian Defenses family, indexed as ECO E43.
The Indian Defenses group covers Indian defences — hypermodern lines where Black challenges the centre with pieces rather than pawns.
The line arises from 11 plies — specifically the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3.
It is a variation of Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation, which itself descends from the root opening Nimzo-Indian Defense.
It branches into 2 notable variations — Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation, with Ne4.
Together the deeper variations number 6 across the full subtree.
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
- E43
- Group
- Indian Defenses (E)
- Plies
- 11
- Direct variations
- 2
- Total in subtree
- 6
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
166,653 games · White 47.4% / Draw 5.4% / Black 47.2%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| O-O | 65,289 | |
| Ne4 | 37,053 | |
| Bxc3+ | 24,156 | |
| d5 | 13,073 | |
| d6 | 9,573 | |
| c5 | 8,804 | |
| Be4 | 2,178 | |
| h6 | 2,042 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:34:01
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Variations (2)
Show all 6 sub-variations (full subtree)
- E43 Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 12-ply
- E43 with Ne4 12-ply
- E43 Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 13-ply
- E52 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Schlechter Defense 14-ply
- E43 Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 14-ply
- E43 Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 18-ply