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Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4/2...e6/3. Nc3/3...Bb4

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Nimzo-Indian Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black kingg8 black kingh8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black pawnf6 black knightg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black bishopc4 white pawnd4 white pawne4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 white knightd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 black kingc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4

Nimzo-Indian Defence

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3...Bb4

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3...Bb4 introduces the Nimzo-Indian Defence. Black develops their dark-squared bishop as actively as possible and pins the white knight. If not handled properly, this pin can cause problems for White for several reasons. The most positionally significant of these is that the pin nullifies White's control of the e4 square. White would like to play e4 at some point, but Black's knight on f6 dominates the square for now, since the c3 knight cannot recapture when pinned. Consequently, Black may be able to install their knight on e4 or otherwise use the square for his own purposes if White does not fight for it.

A second implication of the pin is that Black is threatening to exchange bishop for knight and double White's pawns. The resulting position would be unbalanced, with White trying to open the position to utilize the power of his two bishops, and Black working to keep the position closed and exploit White's pawn weaknesses. White must decide how they feel about this prospect when choosing their next moves.

The Nimzo-Indian Defence is quite popular and there are a number of systems available to each side. White's fourth move options are listed below. Note that perhaps the most obvious move, 4. Bd2, breaking the pin and eliminating Black's threat to double White's pawns, is not among them. This is not because 4.Bd2 loses immediately; it does not. However, it is rarely seen in top level chess because it is far less ambitious than White's other choices.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4

4 5 6 7
Rubinstein System e3
O-O
Bd3
d5
Nf3
c5
O-O
dxc4
=
Fianchetto Variation g3
c5
Nf3
cxd4
Nxd4
O-O
Bg2
d5
cxd5
Nxd5
=
Classical Variation or
Capablanca Variation
Qc2
O-O
a3
Bxc3+
Qxc3
b6
Nf3
Bb7
=
Kasparov Variation Nf3
b6
Bg5
Bb7
e3
h6
Bh4
Bxc3+
=
4.f3 Variation f3
c5
d5
Nh5
g3
Bxc3+
bxc3
f5
Sämisch Variation a3
Bxc3+
bxc3
c5
e3
Nc6
Bd3
O-O
=
Leningrad Variation Bg5
c5
d5
d6
e3
exd5
cxd5
Nbd7
Spielmann Variation Qb3
c5
dxc5
Nc6
Bg5
h6
Bxf6
Qxf6
=
4.g4 Variation g4
c5
dxc5
Nxg4
a6
Bxc3+
bxc3
Qh4
Nh3

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References

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