7.6K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 54.3% expected score for White (we're 90% confident it's between 53.4% and 55.3%), based on 7.6K Lichess games.
Improves with rating: 36% → 52%
Best in Bullet (51%), worst in Rapid (45%)
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: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 50.7% (90% CI: 49.8%-51.7%) win rate for white, based on 7.6K rated games from Lichess.
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation performs best at 1400-1599 Elo with a 56.1% win rate for white (158 games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Blitz (51.2%) outperforms Rapid (44.8%) by 6.4%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a sharpness score of 92.9 (decisive), meaning 92.9% of games end decisively. Average game length is 37 moves.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 56.1% (90% CI: 49.6%-62.5%) win rate for white, based on 158 Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 4.7% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 50.1% (90% CI: 45.6%-54.5%) win rate for white, based on 341 Lichess games. Average game length is 33 moves with a 4.8% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 49.5% (90% CI: 46.7%-52.2%) win rate for white, based on 901 Lichess games. Average game length is 33 moves with a 5.0% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 50.0% (90% CI: 48.2%-51.8%) win rate for white, based on 2.1K Lichess games. Average game length is 36 moves with a 7.0% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 51.1% (90% CI: 49.6%-52.5%) win rate for white, based on 3.2K Lichess games. Average game length is 38 moves with a 8.1% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 52.0% (90% CI: 49.1%-55.0%) win rate for white, based on 793 Lichess games. Average game length is 42 moves with a 8.1% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 51.2% (90% CI: 49.1%-53.3%) win rate for white (1.5K Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.9%.
In Blitz games, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 51.2% (90% CI: 50.1%-52.3%) win rate for white (5.5K Lichess games). Draw rate is 7.6%.
In Rapid games, the Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation has a 44.8% (90% CI: 41.4%-48.3%) win rate for white (564 Lichess games). Draw rate is 7.9%.
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: Rubinstein System, Rubinstein Variation is statistically favors white with a 50.7% (90% CI: 49.8%-51.7%) 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.