B00

Nimzowitsch Defense: Williams Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

1,467,638 games: White 49.4% / Draw 5.0% / Black 45.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	785,455785K
	247,485247K
	170,394170K
	127,933128K
	40,76141K
	39,64840K
	19,60820K
	10,78111K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.60 White is slightly better

Best play: 3. d4 Nf6 4. d5 Ne5 5. Nxe5 dxe5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Qe2 Rc8

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

By rating

The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 45% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	967K
1400–1799	1.2M
1800–2199	708K
2200 and up	152K
Masters, over the board	2,166

Master games

Anand, V. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2017
Kasimdzhanov, R. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2017
Movsesian, S. – Carlsen, M. 0–1, 2017
Guseinov, G. – Carlsen, M. 0–1, 2017
Guseinov, G. – Carlsen, M. ½–½, 2017

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Nimzowitsch Defense: Williams Variation (ECO B00, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Nimzowitsch Defense: Declined Variation, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 d6 (2 moves).

In 1,467,638 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.4%, Black 45.5% and 5.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. d4, in 54% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Nimzowitsch Defense: Williams Variation

3. Nc3 scores best for White: 52.4%, with White winning 49.8% and Black 45.0% of 128K games. The most played, 3. d4, scores 52.2% in 785K games, and 3. Bb5 scores lowest: 51.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. d4.

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

Popularity by year

The Nimzowitsch Defense: Williams Variation has stayed between 0.055% and 0.063% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.056% in 2025).

0.056%0.056%0.063%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.056%	19,850
2017	0.058%	31,954
2018	0.061%	47,852
2019	0.063%	78,508
2020	0.06%	176,685
2021	0.056%	218,663
2022	0.055%	206,321
2023	0.055%	206,857
2024	0.056%	201,894
2025	0.056%	194,825
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.056%	61,563

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Nimzowitsch Defense: Williams Variation (B00)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/nimzowitsch-defense-williams-variation