Caissa Codex
E21

Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Korchnoi Variation

Chess diagram: Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Korchnoi Variation after 5. d5

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

62,439 games: White 47.9% / Draw 4.5% / Black 47.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
25,21725K
14,61915K
7,5907,590
5,0725,072
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Euwe Variation 4,4514,451
2,5392,539
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Shocron Gambit 2,0242,024
409409

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.32 Black is slightly better

Best play: 5... d6 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 exd5 8. cxd5 Nbd7 9. e3 O-O 10. a4

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

Overview

Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Korchnoi Variation (ECO E21, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. d5 (5 moves).

In 62,439 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.9%, Black 47.6% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…exd5, in 40% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Euwe Variation.

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How to play against the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Korchnoi Variation

5…O-O scores best for Black: 52.0%, with Black winning 49.7% and White 45.6% of 7,590 games. The most played, 5…exd5, scores 48.6% in 25K games, and 5…Ne4 scores lowest: 48.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…d6.

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 (1)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…c5 5. d5, the position after Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Nimzo-Indian Defense: Three Knights Variation, Korchnoi Variation (E21)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-three-knights-variation-korchnoi-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzo-indian-defense-three-knights-variation-korchnoi-variation