Nimzo-Indian Defense

The idea

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, Black does not fight for the center with pawns at first. The pin on the c3 knight keeps White from playing e4. If White allows ...Bxc3, Black often leaves White with doubled c-pawns, a long-term target.

In return White gets the bishop pair and can try to open the game for them. The main White tries are 4.e3 (the Rubinstein), 4.Qc2 (the Classical, which avoids doubled pawns), 4.f3, which prepares e4 at once, or 4.a3, which makes Black take on c3 right away. Black's play is flexible: ...c5, ...d5, ...b6 with ...Bb7, or ...d6 with ...e5.

Rich and strategic. The Nimzo is about trade-offs, such as bishops against knights and a better pawn shape against more space. It is named after Aron Nimzowitsch, one of the great thinkers of chess, and it is regarded as one of Black's most reliable defenses.

Players who like ideas more than memorized lines, and who are comfortable giving up the bishop pair for a lasting plus.

After ...Bxc3, play against the doubled c-pawns rather than opening the position for White's bishops.

The main line, move by move

1. 1.d4 · White takes a share of the center with a pawn that the queen already guards. The queen's bishop can now come out, and c4 or e4 may follow.
2. 1...Nf6 · The knight comes to its best square and controls e4, so White cannot build the full center with e4 next move.
3. 2.c4 · White takes more space and controls d5. The pawn on c4 also keeps the knight free to develop to c3 without blocking its own pawn.
4. 2...e6 · Black opens the way for the king's bishop, which is heading to b4. The pawn also guards d5, so ...d5 stays possible later.
5. 3.Nc3 · White develops the knight to control e4 and now threatens to take the whole center with e4. Black has to answer that threat at once.
6. 3...Bb4 · The bishop pins the knight to the king, so the knight cannot stop e4: the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Black can also play ...Bxc3+ and leave White with two pawns stacked on the c-file.

Next moves in book

• 4.a3 · Sämisch Variation
• 4.Bg5 · Leningrad Variation
• 4.Qb3 · Spielmann Variation
• 4.Qc2 · Classical Variation
• 4.Qd3 · Mikenas Attack
• 4.e3 · Rubinstein System
• 4.e4 · Dilworth Gambit
• 4.f3 · Kmoch Variation
• 4.Nf3 · Three Knights Variation
• 4.g3 · Romanishin Variation

A famous game

• Carlsen vs Niemann Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis (Round 3), 2022

Related openings

• Catalan Opening E00–E09 · 15 named lines
• King's Indian Defense E60–E99 · 109 named lines
• Grünfeld Defense A56–E60 · 51 named lines
• London System A48–D02 · 4 named lines