7.8K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 47.8% expected score for Black (we're 90% confident it's between 46.9% and 48.7%), based on 7.8K Lichess games.
Declines with rating: 63% → 36%
Best in Blitz (45%), worst in UltraBullet (20%)
Click any cell to filter. Green = above 50%, Red = below 50%.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | |||
| 1000-1199 | — | ||||
| 1200-1399 | — | ||||
| 1400-1599 | |||||
| 1600-1799 | — | ||||
| 1800-1999 | — | ||||
| 2000-2199 | — | ||||
| 2200-2499 | — | ||||
| 2500+ | — | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 49.2% (90% CI: 48.3%-50.2%) win rate for white, based on 7.8K rated games from Lichess.
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense performs best at 1400-1599 Elo with a 53.9% win rate for white (432 games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Bullet (50.7%) outperforms Rapid (47.4%) by 3.3%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a sharpness score of 94.1 (decisive), meaning 94.1% of games end decisively. Average game length is 36 moves.
At 1200-1399 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 50.8% (90% CI: 44.1%-57.5%) win rate for white, based on 149 Lichess games. Average game length is 28 moves with a 3.0% draw rate.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 53.9% (90% CI: 49.9%-57.8%) win rate for white, based on 432 Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 2.7% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 49.0% (90% CI: 46.6%-51.4%) win rate for white, based on 1.1K Lichess games. Average game length is 32 moves with a 4.7% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 50.2% (90% CI: 48.5%-51.9%) win rate for white, based on 2.3K Lichess games. Average game length is 35 moves with a 4.6% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 48.2% (90% CI: 46.4%-49.9%) win rate for white, based on 2.1K Lichess games. Average game length is 37 moves with a 5.4% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 47.7% (90% CI: 45.4%-49.9%) win rate for white, based on 1.3K Lichess games. Average game length is 41 moves with a 10.0% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 50.2% (90% CI: 45.8%-54.6%) win rate for white, based on 350 Lichess games. Average game length is 47 moves with a 14.1% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 50.7% (90% CI: 48.8%-52.5%) win rate for white (2.0K Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.6%.
In Blitz games, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 49.0% (90% CI: 47.8%-50.1%) win rate for white (4.9K Lichess games). Draw rate is 5.9%.
In Rapid games, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense has a 47.4% (90% CI: 44.7%-50.2%) win rate for white (902 Lichess games). Draw rate is 8.8%.
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Bernstein Defense is statistically balanced with a 49.2% (90% CI: 48.3%-50.2%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 1400-1599 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.