Nimzo-Larsen Attack

ECO A01beginner

The Nimzo-Larsen, 1.b3, puts the queen's bishop on the long diagonal before anything else and asks Black's e5/d5 center to prove itself against persistent piece pressure. Bent Larsen wielded it against world champions; modern engines and online stars have revived it as a legitimate fighting system. The typical battle: Black builds a broad center, White chips at e5 with Bb2, e3, Bb5 and f4 or d4 levers, and the b2 bishop decides the middlegame the moment lines open.

Train as White Train as Black Explore all variations

Main line

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

White pushes the pawn to b3, making room for the bishop on b2. This is the start of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack — a sneaky opening that controls the center from the side!
Black boldly marches the pawn to e5, grabbing space right in the middle of the board and saying, "I want the center too!"
The bishop slides to b2, a fantastic diagonal where it can shoot all the way across the board and put pressure on the center and the kingside.
The knight hops to c6, a great square in the middle of the board. From here it helps control the d4 and e5 squares and keeps Black's pieces working together.
White moves the pawn to e3, opening a path for the other bishop to develop. This also helps keep the center solid and steady.
The knight jumps to f6, a very active square. It eyes the center and gets ready to help defend the king when the time comes to castle.
The bishop leaps all the way to b5, putting pressure on Black's knight on c6. White is developing quickly and creating some tension on the queenside.
Black develops the bishop to d6, a nice central square where it eyes White's kingside and supports the pawn on e5.
The knight moves to a3 — an unusual square for a knight! From here it plans to jump to c4, where it can become much more active.
The knight moves to a5, aiming to challenge White's bishop on b5. Black is trying to make that bishop retreat so it no longer threatens the knight on c6.
White retreats the bishop to e2, a safe and solid square. The bishop stays useful here while the king gets closer to being able to castle.
Black nudges the pawn to a6, making some extra space on the queenside. This small move can also get in the way of White's pieces later.

Open the full annotated variation tree — free account

Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	32	31.2%	6.2%	62.5%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6
600-800	30	63.3%	0%	36.7%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6
800-1000	192	56.8%	1%	42.2%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6
1000-1200	87	44.8%	1.1%	54%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6
1200-1400	2,006	47.2%	3.9%	48.9%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6
1400-1600	32	56.3%	3.1%	40.6%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.Na3
1600-1800	250	48.8%	4.8%	46.4%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6
1800-2000	224	44.6%	1.8%	53.6%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6
2000-2200	82	45.1%	2.4%	52.4%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.Na3
2200-2400	35	48.6%	2.9%	48.6%	1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.Na3 Na5

Most played continuations (1200-1400 rating)

After 1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6:

Bxc6 — played 40.7% of the time (White wins 45%, draws 3.3%, Black wins 51.7%)
Nf3 — played 35.6% of the time (White wins 49.1%, draws 4.2%, Black wins 46.7%)
d4 — played 4.6% of the time (White wins 46.7%, draws 3.3%, Black wins 50%)

Frequently asked questions

Is 1.b3 a serious opening or a surprise weapon?

Both. It concedes the center's first move but develops the most important piece in the system immediately, and there is no clean equalizer — Black gets a pleasant game many ways but must actually play chess from move one. At club level its unfamiliarity alone is worth real points.

How should Black meet 1.b3?

The principled answer is 1...e5 building the center the b2 bishop covets, meeting 2.Bb2 with ...Nc6 and ...d6 (or the ambitious ...d5/...Bd6 setups) and staying alert to Bb5 pins and f4 strikes. Solid alternatives like 1...d5 with ...Bg4 simply develop and deny White targets.