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

Nimzo-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) rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/4pn2/8/1bPP4/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w
Moves: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4

Nimzo-Indian Defence

3...Bb4

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

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	∞

References

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