Nimzo-Indian Defense

Why the Nimzo-Indian Defense is worth training

The Nimzo-Indian Defense starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. Black pins the knight on c3, the piece White needs to support e4. Black is often happy to give the bishop for that knight and leave White with doubled c-pawns. The fight is about the bishop pair against pawn structure, and about who controls e4.

Chessmate has a Nimzo-Indian Defense course for White and a Nimzo-Indian Defense course for Black. The White course plays the Classical 4.Qc2. The Black course answers every main fourth move with ...c5.

The Classical 4.Qc2 in the White sample line

4.Qc2 protects c3, supports e4, and lets White win the bishop pair without accepting doubled c-pawns. In the White sample line, Black castles and White asks the bishop at once with 5.a3. After 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7, White plays 8.f3 to take firm control of e4, accepting slower kingside development for a broad center.

After 8...h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 Nxd5, both queens are hanging. 12.Bxd8 Nxc3 13.Bh4 trades them, and White keeps the bishop pair. The bishop settles on f2, and 15.e4 builds the center that f3 prepared.

The course also covers the Berlin with 4...c5, where White takes with 5.dxc5 and makes Black spend time winning the pawn back, and the Noa with 4...d5, met by 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5. The Zürich with 4...Nc6 and setups with 4...d6, 4...b6, and 4...h6 each get their own branch.

Punishing early mistakes against 4.Qc2

Two traps in the White course come from Black acting too soon. After 4...b6 5.e4, the knight jump 5...Ne4 drops a piece. 6.Qxe4 takes it, since the knight on c3 protects the queen, and after 6...Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 White is a full piece up.

In the Berlin, the early exchange on c3 costs a pawn. After 4...c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 Na6, White supports the extra pawn with 8.b4. After 8...b6 9.cxb6 axb6 10.Bb2, White is still a pawn up and Black's queenside is loose.

The Black sample line: ...c5 against 4.Qc2

The Black course starts with 1...Nf6 and 2...e6, so Black can still choose a Queen's Indian or Queen's Gambit setup if White avoids 3.Nc3. Against 4.Qc2, 4...c5 hits d4 right away, because White has spent a tempo on the queen.

In the sample line, Black castles before winning back the c5-pawn with 6.a3 Bxc5. Then ...Nc6, ...b6, and ...Bb7 put pressure on d4 and e4. 10...Be7 breaks the pin, and after 11...h6 12.Bh4, 12...Nh5 uncovers the e7 bishop's attack on h4. White has to trade the active bishop, and after 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Rfd1 d6, Black has a flexible center and an equal game. The course also covers White castling long with 10.O-O-O.

Answers to White's other fourth moves

The Black course keeps the ...c5 idea against every main fourth move. Against the Rubinstein with 4.e3, Black castles, plays ...b6 and ...Bb7, and if White plays Na4, gives the bishop on f3 to leave White with an isolated d4-pawn. Against the Kmoch with 4.f3 and 5.d5, Black opens the e-file and breaks with ...b5. Against the Sämisch with 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3, Black targets the doubled c4-pawn with ...Na5 and ...Ba6. The Three Knights with 4.Nf3, the Romanishin with 4.g3, the Spielmann with 4.Qb3, and 4.Bd2 each get their own branch.

The Leningrad has a trap for White. After 4.Bg5 c5 5.d5 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 d6, the capture 7.dxe6 looks natural, but after 7...Bxe6 8.e3 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Ne4, the knight hits the weak c3-pawn and the bishop on g3. The Black course trains this punishment.

What to train first

Pick the course that matches the side you play.

• If you meet the Nimzo-Indian with White, start with the Nimzo-Indian Defense course for White. Learn the 4.Qc2 sample line, then the Berlin and the two early traps.
• If you play the Nimzo-Indian with Black, start with the Nimzo-Indian Defense course for Black. Learn the 4...c5 sample line, then the answers to 4.e3, 4.f3, and 4.a3.
• With either color, keep asking who controls e4. Most plans in the Nimzo-Indian start from that square.

The Nimzo-Indian rewards knowing what each side is trading. Train the lines until you can judge, after Bxc3, whether the bishop pair or the pawn structure matters more.