Nimzowitsch Variation, Sokolsky Variation
- 1.e4e5
- 2.Nf3d6
- 3.d4Nf6
- 4.dxe5Nxe4
- 5.Nbd2
51 games
A rare, quiet branch of the Philidor Defense's Nimzowitsch Variation in which White meets 4...Nxe4 by challenging the knight with 5. Nbd2.
Train it in TheoriaAbout the Sokolsky Variation
The Sokolsky Variation answers 4...Nxe4 with 5. Nbd2. Instead of attacking the knight with the queen, as in the Rellstab Variation 5. Qd5, White offers to trade it off. Black usually accepts with 5...Nxd2, while the retreat 5...Nc5 and the support move 5...d5 are less common. The line is rarely played, engines rate it as roughly balanced, and Black has scored well in the small database sample.