Nimzo-Indian Defence
One pin on move three stops White's centre in its tracks: the bishop on b4 ties down the knight that was going to support e4. You get a solid position with no weak pawns, a clear plan against every White setup, and the chance to leave them with doubled c-pawns that you attack for the rest of the game.
Spar this openingYour setup
- Bishopb4
- Knightf6
- Knightc6 / d7 / a6
- Bishopb7 / a6 / d7
- Queenc7 / e7
- Pawnse6 c5
- CastleO-O
Nf6 before Bb4. Knight first. ...Bb4+ with no knight on c3 to pin is a check into thin air: Bd2 or Nc3 blocks it and a3 chases the bishop back having achieved nothing.
Ideas
...Bb4 stops the c3-knight from supporting e4. That is the whole idea.
White's dream after 1.d4 and 2.c4 is e4: two centre pawns side by side. The c3-knight is what makes e4 possible, and the pin takes it out of the game. While the bishop sits on b4, White has to find another way to support e4 (Qc2, f3, Bd3 and Nge2) and each one costs time you use to castle and strike with ...d5 or ...c5.
When a3 comes, ...Bxc3+. Never retreat the bishop, and don't trade it for free.
The trade bishop-for-knight is a fair deal only if White pays: either with doubled pawns after bxc3, or with a wasted move on a3. Taking without being asked gives White the bishop pair for nothing. Retreating along the diagonal after a3 is worse: b4 and c5 can trap the bishop. When a3 appears, take, every time.
After bxc3, put a pawn on c5, a knight on a5 or c6, and a bishop on a6. The c4-pawn is the target.
White's pawns on c3 and c4 cannot defend each other, and the front one on c4 is stuck. ...c5 fixes them, ...Nc6 or ...Na5 and ...Ba6 pile onto c4, and ...d6 with ...e5 makes sure d4 cannot advance to relieve the pressure. White has the bishop pair; you have a target that never goes away.
The Rubinstein is quiet. Castle, then hit the centre with both pawns and keep the bishop.
4.e3 is White's most common and most sensible move: it develops without committing. You answer with the most classical plan in chess. ...O-O for safety, ...d5 to fight for the centre, ...c5 to hit d4, and ...Nc6 to hit it again. The bishop stays on b4 until a3 asks it to leave.
The queen guards c3 so the pawns stay healthy. Fight for e4 with ...b6 and ...Bb7 instead.
4.Qc2 means White will recapture on c3 with the queen and keep a clean structure, at the cost of a slow queen move. There are no doubled pawns to attack, so the plan changes: castle, take when a3 comes, then ...b6 and ...Bb7 to fight for e4 and d5 with the bishop. Watch for e4 played too early: the queen on c3 does not guard it.
When White pushes e4 without support, check who guards it. Often nothing does.
White wants e4 so badly that it often comes a move too soon: after Qxc3 the queen does not see e4, and after Bd3 the bishop blocks the queen's view of d4. Every time a centre pawn advances, count its defenders before you decide it is safe. Half the Nimzo's free pawns come this way.
Doubled pawns? Hit c4. Healthy pawns? ...d5, ...c5 and play for e4.
The plan depends on one question: did White's pawns get doubled? If yes, everything goes at c4: ...c5, ...Na5, ...Ba6, ...Qc7, and ...e5 to keep d4 from moving. If no, play a normal centre game with the extra piece on the board: ...d5 and ...c5 to open lines, a knight to e4 if it is safe, and the b7-bishop on the long diagonal. Either way, stay solid; the Nimzo wins slowly.
The structure
Traps
The tell: a3 hits the bishop and you want to keep it rather than trade it.
b4 kicks the bishop to b6, c5 attacks it again, and it has no squares: a5 is covered by the pawn on b4, c5 is a pawn, and a7 and c7 are your own pieces. When a3 comes, ...Bxc3+ is the only move.
The tell: White gets the healthy structure they wanted and pushes e4 out of relief.
The queen on c3 looks along the third rank and the long diagonal, and e4 is on neither. Nothing else guards it. A free pawn, and the knight sits on the square the whole opening was about.
The tell: White pushes e4 in the Sämisch before the knight has reached e2.
The bishop on d3 sits between the queen and d4. After ...cxd4 cxd4 the pawn on d4 has no defender left, and the knight takes it. The centre White was building becomes the pawn you win.
Model games
The classical picture. You castle, hit the centre with both pawns, take on c3 when asked, and put the queen on c7. ...e5 fixes d4 and the c3-pawn is a target for the rest of the game.
White keeps clean pawns and the bishop pair; you fight for e4 with the b7-bishop and ...d5. Solid, sound and easy to play.
White gets the centre and the bishop pair; you get the c4-pawn as a target. ...b6 and ...Ba6 hit it straight on, ...Ne8 reroutes the knight to d6, and every white piece ends up defending pawns.
How the coach grades a move
Every move you play gets one of six grades, from the engine’s view of the position, with the book’s verdict taking over when it is harsher. The sentence beside it is always the reason. Tap it for what the move did, why this opening wants it, and whether anything was better.
- Best
- Nothing better was available.
- Good
- Within a few percent of best. Noise at this depth.
- Playable
- A small real gap. The better move is named, play goes on.
- Inaccuracy
- Seven to twelve points of winning chances. The game stops to show you.
- Mistake
- Twelve or more, or a move the book warns against, or a broken order rule.
- Blunder
- Twenty-five or more. Usually material.
Catalogued as E20–E59 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings, the reference index most databases sort by.