Opening guide

Nimzo-Indian Defense (E20): win rates at club level

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, playing as black. Data from 211 Lichess blitz & rapid games at 1600-1800.

The position

Position after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. Open this line on Lichess → · Nimzo-Indian Defense on Lichess

How it scores at your rating

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Win/draw/loss rate by rating band
Rating bandGamesWhite / draw / BlackScore for black
1400-1600122Not enough games at this band yet.
1600-1800211Not enough games at this band yet.
1800-2000339Not enough games at this band yet.
2000+463Not enough games at this band yet.

What white actually plays next

Top replies at 1600-1800:

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Most common replies at 1600-1800
MoveGamesPlayedWin / draw / loss
Bg5 43 20.4% Bg5 win/draw/loss 34.9% ±13.7Win rate: 95 percent confidence interval 22.4 to 49.8 percent, 43 games. / 0.0% ±4.1Draw rate: 95 percent confidence interval 0.0 to 8.2 percent, 43 games. / 65.1% ±13.7Loss rate: 95 percent confidence interval 50.2 to 77.6 percent, 43 games.Wide interval, small sample: treat this number cautiously.
Nf3 40 19.0% Nf3 win/draw/loss 62.5% ±14.4Win rate: 95 percent confidence interval 47.0 to 75.8 percent, 40 games. / 0.0% ±4.4Draw rate: 95 percent confidence interval 0.0 to 8.8 percent, 40 games. / 37.5% ±14.4Loss rate: 95 percent confidence interval 24.2 to 53.0 percent, 40 games.Wide interval, small sample: treat this number cautiously.
Bd2 36 17.1% Bd2 win/draw/loss 44.4% ±15.4Win rate: 95 percent confidence interval 29.5 to 60.4 percent, 36 games. / 0.0% ±4.8Draw rate: 95 percent confidence interval 0.0 to 9.6 percent, 36 games. / 55.6% ±15.4Loss rate: 95 percent confidence interval 39.6 to 70.5 percent, 36 games.Wide interval, small sample: treat this number cautiously.
a3 29 13.7% a3 win/draw/loss 41.4% ±16.9Win rate: 95 percent confidence interval 25.5 to 59.3 percent, 29 games. / 6.9% ±10.0Draw rate: 95 percent confidence interval 1.9 to 22.0 percent, 29 games. / 51.7% ±17.1Loss rate: 95 percent confidence interval 34.4 to 68.6 percent, 29 games.Wide interval, small sample: treat this number cautiously.
Qc2 22 10.4% Qc2 win/draw/loss 50.0% ±19.3Win rate: 95 percent confidence interval 30.7 to 69.3 percent, 22 games. / 9.1% ±12.6Draw rate: 95 percent confidence interval 2.5 to 27.8 percent, 22 games. / 40.9% ±19.0Loss rate: 95 percent confidence interval 23.3 to 61.3 percent, 22 games.Wide interval, small sample: treat this number cautiously.
e3 19 9.0% e3 win/draw/loss 36.8% ±19.9Win rate: 95 percent confidence interval 19.1 to 59.0 percent, 19 games. / 0.0% ±8.4Draw rate: 95 percent confidence interval 0.0 to 16.8 percent, 19 games. / 63.2% ±19.9Loss rate: 95 percent confidence interval 41.0 to 80.9 percent, 19 games.Wide interval, small sample: treat this number cautiously.

Common mistakes at 1600-1800

No move at this band is both common and clearly low-scoring, controlling for rating gap. Players at this rating aren’t making an obvious mistake here.

Model games

Real games from the Lichess masters database.

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Master games in this line
WhiteBlackResultYearGame
Caruana, Fabiano (2835) Carlsen, Magnus (2863) ½-½ 2020 View game
Caruana, Fabiano (2835) Carlsen, Magnus (2863) 0-1 2020 View game
Carlsen, Magnus (2863) Caruana, Fabiano (2828) 1-0 2020 View game
Carlsen, M. (2882) Ding Liren (2805) ½-½ 2019 View game
Ding Liren (2806) Carlsen, M. (2864) ½-½ 2022 View game

Recent club games in this line

Recent rated games at 1600-1800: not model games, just what actually happens at that rating.

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Build a repertoire from here

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