Nimzo-Larsen Attack
Chess opening · ECO A01 · 1 half-move
1. b3
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack is reached after 1. b3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
How often it is played
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack and its variations appeared in 1.7% of games — 50,377 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 27 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 51%, 3.6% were drawn and Black won 46%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at -0.17 — which is level. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Pawn Game | 1. e4 | 59% |
| Queen's Pawn Game | 1. d4 | 26% |
| English Opening | 1. c4 | 3.0% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation | 1. b3 e5 | 0.44% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation | 1. b3 d5 | 0.44% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation | 1. b3 Nf6 | 0.18% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: English Variation | 1. b3 c5 | 0.11% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Symmetrical Variation | 1. b3 b6 | 0.05% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Dutch Variation | 1. b3 f5 | 0.02% |
| Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Polish Variation | 1. b3 b5 | 0.00% |
Check your own games
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