Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6

Indian Defence
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/5n2/8/3P4/8/PPP1PPPP/RNBQKBNR w
Moves: 1. d4 Nf6
Parent: Queen's Pawn Opening

Indian Defence

1...Nf6

Black's 1...Nf6 in response to 1.d4 is characteristic of the various Indian defences. Unlike 1...d5, which fights for the center in traditional fashion by occupying it with pawns, Indian systems reflect the hypermodern approach to opening theory. In such openings, Black often allows White to construct a classical pawn center, but then attempts to attack it with pieces and undermine it with timely pawn advances. By delaying the movement of their own central pawns, Black retains a certain degree of flexibility at the cost of ceding the center to White.

It should be noted that while 1...Nf6 often leads to Indian systems, transpositions back to other openings such as the Queen's Gambit are not uncommon. As in any opening, both players should remain aware of these possibilities.

The main continuation for White is 2.c4. In fact, there are many playable moves at this point, but most of them either transpose back to a typical 2.c4 position or into other more or less orthodox 1.d4 openings. Some lines, such as 2.Bg5, may lead to strange positions, but even these may transpose or become similar to other mainstream 1.d4 openings.

Hopefully, this gives some background as to why 2.c4 is the main move discussed in opening books. Feel free to play either 2.Nf3, 2.Nc3, or even 2.c3, 2.Bf4, 2.Bg5. Even so, learning the main positions – and, more importantly, the strategies arising from 2.c4 – will not be time wasted.

2.Nd2 is a weak move by White, because Black can play the Budapest Trap with 2.Nd2 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.h3 Ne3.

Statistics

Estimated next move popularity: c4 62%, Nf3 28%, Bg5 5%, Nc3 2%, g3 1%, e3 1%, Bf4 and other moves less than 1%

Theory table

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

1.d4 Nf6

	2	3	4	5	6	Evaluation	Notes
Nimzo-Indian Defence	c4 e6	Nc3 Bb4	e3 O-O	Bd3 d5	Nf3 c5	=
Queen's Indian Defence	c4 e6	Nf3 b6	a3 Bb7	Nc3 d5	cxd5 Nxd5	=
Bogo-Indian Defence	c4 e6	Nf3 Bb4+	Bd2 Qe7	g3 Nc6	Nc3 Bxc3	+=
King's Indian Defence	c4 g6	Nc3 Bg7	e4 d6	Nf3 O-O	Be2 e5	=
Grünfeld Defence	c4 g6	Nc3 d5	cxd5 Nxd5	e4 Nxc3	bxc3 Bg7	=
Benoni Defence	c4 c5	d5 e6	Nc3 exd5	cxd5 d6	e4 g6	+=
Budapest Gambit	c4 e5	dxe5 Ng4	Bf4 Nc6	Nf3 Bb4+	Nbd2 Qe7	+=
Queen's Pawn Game	Nf3 g6	c4 Bg7	Nc3 O-O	e4 d6	Be2 e5	=	King's Indian Defence, 5.Nf3
Queen's Pawn Game	Nf3 g6	c4 Bg7	Nc3 d5	cxd5 Nxd5	e4 Nxc3	=	Grünfeld Defence, 4.Nf3
Queen's Pawn Game	Nf3 e6	c4				+=	Queen's Indian Defence Bogo-Indian Defence
Queen's Pawn Game	Nf3 d5					=	Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation, 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3
Queen's Pawn Game	Nf3 c5	d5 b5	Bg5 Ne4	Bh4 Bb7		+=
Indian Game: London System	Bf4					=
	Bf4 b6	Nc3 e6	a3 Bb7	e3 a6		=
Blackmar-Diemer Gambit	Nc3 d5	e4 dxe4	f3 exf3	Nxf3 Bg4	h3 Bh5	=
Trompowsky Attack	Bg5 Ne4	Bf4 c5	f3 Qa5+	c3 Nf6	Nbd2 cxd4	=
Richter-Veresov Attack	Bg5 d5	Nc3 Nbd7	Nf3 h6	Bh4 e6	e4 dxe4	=
	g3 g6	Bg2 Bg7				=
Paleface Attack	f3 g6					=
Bronstein Gambit	g4 Nxg4					+/=
Indian Defence: New Polish Variation	b4 e6					=

References

• Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-85744-221-0.
• Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. 1999. Nick de Firmian, Walter Korn. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.