Caissa Codex
B00

Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation

Chess diagram: Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation after 3…e5

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

84,751 games: White 51.5% / Draw 4.1% / Black 44.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
52,16252K
20,58921K
Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation 9,9559,955
561561
503503
225225
171171
146146

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+1.51 White is clearly better

Even so, Black scores 46.5% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.

Best play: 4. dxe5 Nxe5 5. f4 Nc6 6. e5 Ng8 7. Be3 Bb4 8. Qd2 d6

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

Overview

Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation (ECO B00, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Nimzowitsch Defense, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 e5 (3 moves).

In 84,751 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.5%, Black 44.4% and 4.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. d5, in 62% of those games.

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How to play against the Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation

4. dxe5 scores best for White: 58.5%, with White winning 56.3% and Black 39.4% of 21K games. The most played answer, 4. d5, scores lowest: 51.5% in 52K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. dxe5.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d4 e5, the position after Nimzowitsch Defense also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Nimzowitsch Defense: Breyer Variation (B00)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzowitsch-defense-breyer-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzowitsch-defense-breyer-variation