Nimzo-Indian & Bogo-Indian Defense

2. Classical Variation with 4...d5 and Solid Structure

The most solid answer: transposing toward a Queen's Gambit with an active bishop.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nf3 Qf5 7.Qxf5 exf5 8.a3 Be7 9.Bf4 c6 10.e3 Nbd7

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...d5 – Black takes the center with the pawn and attacks c4. With White's queen on c2, White no longer controls d4 from d1, and Black can open the game before White completes development.
  9. 5.cxd5 – White captures on d5 to open the position and choose the structure: Black can recapture with the pawn, Queen's Gambit style, or with the queen.
  10. 5...Qxd5 – The queen recaptures on d5, where it is protected and pressures d4 and g2. White can't chase it away right now with e4, because the c3 knight is pinned by the b4 bishop.
  11. 6.Nf3 – White develops the knight and defends d4, which the queen on d5 was attacking together with a future ...c5. White now threatens a3 to force the bishop to capture on c3.
  12. 6...Qf5 – Black offers a queen exchange: without queens the Nimzo becomes a quiet endgame where Black has already developed well and White loses the activity of the queen on c2.
  13. 7.Qxf5 – White accepts the queen exchange to double Black's pawns on the f-file. If White retreated, Black would gain time and develop the c8 bishop with ...Bd7 or ...Nc6.
  14. 7...exf5 – Black recaptures with the e-pawn: the structure has two pawns on the f-file, but the f5 pawn controls e4 and the semi-open e-file opens for the rook. The c8 bishop now has a free diagonal.
  15. 8.a3 – White attacks the b4 bishop to get the bishop pair or force it to retreat. In an endgame without queens two bishops are a small advantage, so Black prefers to avoid the exchange on c3.
  16. 8...Be7 – Black retreats the bishop to e7 instead of exchanging it on c3, keeping the bishop pair. From e7 the bishop also covers the dark squares on the kingside.
  17. 9.Bf4 – White develops the bishop outside the e3 pawn chain before playing e3. From f4 it controls c7 and b8 and prepares the c-file with Rc1 against the future c6 pawn.
  18. 9...c6 – Black closes the f4 bishop's diagonal toward c7 and prepares ...Nbd7 without being pinned by Nb5. The c6 pawn also reinforces d5, an important square for the black knight.
  19. 10.e3 – White opens the path for the f1 bishop to d3, where it will attack the f5 pawn. White's d4-e3 structure is solid and prepares kingside castling.
  20. 10...Nbd7 – Black develops the knight toward b6 or f8: from b6 it will control c4 and d5, while the f5 pawn keeps e4 under control. Black is ready to castle and play with rooks on the e-file.

How to exploit the position

Queenless endgame with a healthy structure for White and doubled f-pawns for Black, compensated by the bishop pair and the control of e4. The position is balanced and calls for patient play.

Master tips

Don't rush ...f4

The f5 pawn controls e4: pushing it to f4 leaves the e4 square free for White and weakens the pawn.

Model games