Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation
The Nimzowitsch Variation, also called the Nimzowitsch-Rubinstein Variation, is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6, a less common second move in the Sicilian Defense. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
1,516,723 games: White 46.0% / Draw 5.2% / Black 48.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Advance Variation | 535,721536K | |
| Closed Variation | 535,231535K | |
| 219,251219K | ||
| 98,39398K | ||
| 73,63974K | ||
| 29,03129K | ||
| 6,8426,842 | ||
| 3,4523,452 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.68 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nc3 e6 5. Ne4 d6 6. exd6 Bxd6 7. Bb5+ Nc6
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, 52% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 927K | |
| 1400–1799 | 904K | |
| 1800–2199 | 831K | |
| 2200 and up | 245K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,570 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Carlsen, M. – Duda, J.
- So, W. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Karjakin, S. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Nakamura, H. – Mamedyarov, S.
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
Description
The Nimzowitsch Variation, also called the Nimzowitsch-Rubinstein Variation, is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6, a less common second move in the Sicilian Defense. The knight attacks e4 at once, and the play that follows bears some similarity to the Alekhine Defense.
Main lines
White's strongest reply is to chase the knight with 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nc3. Black then has two choices:
- 4...Nxc3 5.dxc3.
- 4...e6, the main line: 5.Nxd5 exd5 6.d4 Nc6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qxd5 Qb6 9.Bc4! Bxf2+ 10.Ke2 O-O 11.Rf1 Bc5 12.Ng5 Nd4+ 13.Kd1, with sharp play that favours White. Instead of 8...Qb6, Black also plays 8...d6 9.exd6 Qb6.
A trap after 4...Nxc3
After 4...Nxc3 5.dxc3 the move 5...b6?, which Nimzowitsch himself played and recommended, loses to 6.e6! f6 7.Ne5!
The numbers
On Lichess Black wins 48.8% of the 1.5 million games and White 46.0%. The rating split is sharp: under 1400 White leads 53.0% to 43.3%, while between 1800 and 2199 Black is ahead 50.2% to 44.7%, and from 2200 up 48.2% to 43.9%. In 3,570 master games over the board White won 37.3%, Black 24.8%, and 37.9% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation
The most played answer, 3. e5 (Advance Variation), also scores best for White: 51.4%, with White winning 48.8% and Black 46.0% of 536K games. Of the main answers, 3. d4 scores lowest: 43.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. e5.
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 Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation peaked in 2020 at 0.065% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.054% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.058% | 20,593 |
| 2017 | 0.055% | 30,540 |
| 2018 | 0.06% | 46,995 |
| 2019 | 0.061% | 75,880 |
| 2020 | 0.065% | 190,319 |
| 2021 | 0.064% | 251,591 |
| 2022 | 0.059% | 220,503 |
| 2023 | 0.057% | 213,768 |
| 2024 | 0.056% | 199,841 |
| 2025 | 0.054% | 186,983 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.054% | 58,727 |
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
Variations (2)
Transpositions
All 5 named lines that continue from here
Sources
- Theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Sicilian Defence, version of 27 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation (B29)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/sicilian-defense-nimzowitsch-variation