E43

Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation 6. Nf3 O-O

Chess diagram: Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation after 6…O-O

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

107,998 games: White 47.0% / Draw 5.5% / Black 47.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
90,62391K
5,0185,018
4,9134,913
4,7654,765
960960
318318
253253
244244

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. O-O c5 8. Na4 cxd4 9. exd4 Re8 10. a3 Bf8 11. b4 d6

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: St. Petersburg Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O (6 moves).

In 107,998 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.0%, Black 47.6% and 5.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. O-O, in 84% of those games.

It continues into one named variation. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.

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Variations (1)

All 4 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (E43)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-st-petersburg-variation-5