Nimzo-Indian & Bogo-Indian Defense

1. Capablanca Variation 4.Qc2 with the ...c5 Counterattack

The move of Capablanca and Kasparov: it controls e4 and avoids doubled pawns after Bxc3.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.a3 Bxc5 7.Nf3 b6 8.Bf4 Bb7 9.Rd1 Nc6 10.e3 Nh5 11.Bg3

Move by move

  1. 1.d4 – White occupies the center with the d-pawn, protected by the queen, and frees the c1 bishop. This is the move that starts Queen's Gambit, Catalan and Nimzo-Indian games.
  2. 1...Nf6 – Black develops the knight toward the center and immediately prevents 2.e4. With Nf6 Black stays flexible: he can choose between the Nimzo-Indian, Queen's Indian, King's Indian or the Queen's Gambit Declined.
  3. 2.c4 – White gains space on the queenside and attacks the d5 square from a distance. White now threatens Nc3 and e4 to build a big pawn center.
  4. 2...e6 – Black opens the diagonal for the f8 bishop and prepares both d5 and Bb4. Compared with 2...d5, Black stays elastic: he waits to see whether White plays Nc3, which allows the Nimzo-Indian.
  5. 3.Nc3 – White develops the knight and prepares e4: if Black doesn't react, 4.e4 would give White the ideal center with pawns on c4, d4 and e4.
  6. 3...Bb4 – The move of the Nimzo-Indian: the bishop pins the c3 knight to the king, so Nc3 no longer controls e4 and the e4 push becomes difficult. Black is ready to capture on c3 to double White's pawns.
  7. 4.Qc2 – With the queen on c2 White defends the c3 knight: if Black captures on c3, White recaptures with the queen and keeps a healthy pawn structure. The queen also controls e4 and supports the future e4 push.
  8. 4...c5 – Black immediately hits d4, taking advantage of the fact that the queen no longer defends the center from d1. If White ignores the threat, ...cxd4 leaves White with a weak center.
  9. 5.dxc5 – White captures on c5: now the b4 bishop is no longer protected by a pawn and Black has to win the pawn back. White hopes to gain a tempo with a3 against the bishop.
  10. 5...O-O – Black castles before recapturing the pawn: the c5 pawn can't run away, because the b4 bishop can take it back at any moment. Castling puts the king safe and brings the rook to f8.
  11. 6.a3 – White asks the bishop to decide: capture on c3 or recapture on c5. The a3 pawn also prepares b4 to gain space on the queenside with a tempo against the bishop.
  12. 6...Bxc5 – Black wins the pawn back with the bishop, which from c5 aims at f2. Black shouldn't capture on c3: with the queen on c2 White would recapture without doubled pawns and with the bishop pair.
  13. 7.Nf3 – White develops the kingside knight and controls d4 and e5. Black's bishop on c5 is active, but White prepares Bf4 or Bg5 and control of the d-file.
  14. 7...b6 – Black prepares Bb7: on the long diagonal the bishop will control e4 and press on f3 and g2. This is the most harmonious setup, because the c8 bishop has no other open diagonals with the pawn on e6.
  15. 8.Bf4 – White develops the bishop to an active diagonal: from f4 it controls b8, c7 and d6 and makes it hard for Black to play d6 or Nc6 followed by Qc7.
  16. 8...Bb7 – Black completes the development of the queenside: the b7 bishop eyes e4 and the diagonal to g2, where White hasn't castled yet.
  17. 9.Rd1 – The rook takes the semi-open d-file and pressures the d7 pawn, which remains backward. This way Black can't easily push d5 or develop the b8 knight to d7.
  18. 9...Nc6 – Black develops the knight to c6, where it controls d4, b4 and e5 without obstructing the queen. From c6 the knight can also jump to a5 or b4 against c4 and the queen on c2.
  19. 10.e3 – White opens the diagonal of the f1 bishop and shuts the c5 bishop's path to f2. Before castling, though, White still has to develop the kingside bishop, and that gives Black a tempo.
  20. 10...Nh5 – The knight attacks the f4 bishop: Black wants to exchange it to get the bishop pair and take away White's control of the dark squares b8, c7 and d6.
  21. 11.Bg3 – White retreats the bishop to g3, where it stays on the h2-b8 diagonal. If Black exchanges, White recaptures hxg3 and opens the h-file for the h1 rook.

How to exploit the position

Black is fully developed with active bishops on b7 and c5; White has the d-file but hasn't castled yet. Exchanging the g3 bishop gives Black the bishop pair.

Master tips

Don't capture on c3 after dxc5

With the queen on c2, the exchange ...Bxc3+ Qxc3 gives White the bishop pair without doubled pawns.

Model games