How to beat the Nimzo-Larsen Attack (1.b3)

1.b3 (or 1.Nf3 and 2.b3): White fianchettoes the queen's bishop on b2 and fights for e5 and d4 from the side. It's rare at club level but popular with the top online players: 489 games in our sample. They scored 60% as Black against it in 258 games, a little under their 62% average as Black.

Three plans that work

1. Grab the centre with 1...e5

1...e5 puts a pawn right on the b2 bishop's diagonal, but defends it easily with ...Nc6 and ...d5, ...Bd6. Lichess calls these lines the Modern Variation, and they were among the titled players' better replies as Black in our sample: 63% in 49 games, against 58% in 65 games for 1...d5 (the Classical Variation).

2. Keep e5 protected and watch Bb5

After 1...e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 d5, White's standard trick is 4.Bb5 and Bxc6 to remove a defender of e5. Answer 4...Bd6, and meet 5.f4 with 5...Qh4+ 6.g3 Qe7: your e5 pawn stays solid and White's kingside is loosened.

3. Prefer a solid set-up? Play ...d5, ...Nf6, ...e6

1...d5 with ...Nf6, ...e6, ...Bd6 and ...O-O, then ...c5, gives you a sound reversed Queen's Indian and keeps the b2 bishop biting on a pawn on d4 or e5. It's the most common reply in our sample, but it scored lower for titled players (58%), so don't expect it to be easy.

A line to play

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 d5 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.f4 Qh4+ 6.g3 Qe7 7.Nf3 f6

The pitfall

Forgetting the b2 bishop. It x-rays all the way to your kingside: before every move, check whether a knight jump by White uncovers it on e5, g7 or h8, and don't leave the e5 pawn guarded only once.

What the data says

Facing the Nimzo-Larsen Attack (1.b3) as Black, the titled players scored 60% in 258 games (their average as Black: 62%). That's about their average.

Most common variations, and how Black scored

Variation (Lichess name)	Games	Black's score
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation	65	58%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation	65	60%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack	55	65%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Modern Variation	49	63%
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: English Variation	13	54%

Titled players who play it most: GM KontraJaKO (30 games, 67%), GM Andrey_Esipenko (23 games, 72%), GM msb2 (21 games, 100%), FM Heisenberg01 (18 games, 89%), GM Ediz_Gurel (18 games, 75%), IM SaraciNderim (16 games, 75%).

Data: 13,865 recent rated games of 100 top titled Lichess players (mostly blitz and bullet), fetched from the public Lichess API on 2026-10-18. Scores are the titled player's (win = 1, draw = ½). Across all their games as Black they scored 62%, so compare against that, not 50%.

Prepare against the actual player

Averages only go so far. A Nimzo-Larsen Attack (1.b3) player has their own pet variations and weak spots. Before your next game, get a free fingerprint of your opponent, or get the full prep report ($5): every variation they play, where they score worst, and a game plan for both colours.

Related guides: How to beat the English Opening (as Black) · How to beat the 1.Nf3 (Zukertort & Réti) (as Black) · How to beat the Bird's Opening (as Black) · How to beat the King's Indian Attack (as Black)