20. Queen's Indian 4.e3: the pawn trap on e4

Against the quiet 4.e3 setup Black occupies e4 with the knight and supports it with ...f5, Dutch style. If White takes on e4, ...fxe4 attacks two pieces; otherwise Black prepares the attack with ...Bd6 against h2.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.e3 Bb7 5.Bd3 Ne4 6.O-O f5 7.Nc3 Bd6

Move by move

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.
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.
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.
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.
3.Nf3 – White develops the kingside knight instead of Nc3 and avoids the Nimzo-Indian: without the knight on c3, ...Bb4 can't pin anything, but White controls e4 less.
3...b6 – The Queen's Indian Defense: Black prepares Bb7 or Ba6 to control e4 and the light squares. Without a knight on c3, ...Bb4 would have no pin.
4.e3 – White chooses a quiet setup: he reinforces d4 and opens the f1 bishop's diagonal toward d3. The c1 bishop, however, stays shut in behind e3.
4...Bb7 – Black develops the bishop on the long diagonal, from where it controls e4. With White's bishop on d3, the fight for e4 becomes the main theme.
5.Bd3 – White develops the bishop to d3, where it controls e4 and aims at h7. He prepares castling.
5...Ne4 – The knight occupies e4 at once, supported by the b7 bishop. Black wants to reinforce it with ...f5, Dutch style.
6.O-O – White castles and puts the king safe. He prepares Nc3 or Nfd2 to exchange the e4 knight.
6...f5 – Black supports the e4 knight with the f-pawn: the structure resembles the Dutch Defense and the knight becomes hard to chase away.
7.Nc3 – White develops the knight and attacks the e4 knight. Black should now know that exchanging on e4 isn't always good for White.
7...Bd6 – The bishop goes to d6, from where it aims at h2 for a future attack with ...Qh4. The e4 knight stays defended by f5 and Bb7: now 8.Nxe4? fxe4 forks the d3 bishop and the f3 knight and wins a piece.

How to exploit the position

The e4 knight is supported by f5 and Bb7: if White takes with 8.Nxe4?, after ...fxe4 the pawn attacks the d3 bishop and the f3 knight and White loses a piece. Otherwise Black has a good kingside attack.

The trap: 8.Nxe4? fxe4 and White can't save both pieces; if 9.Bxe4 Bxe4 Black is a piece up for a pawn.
If White plays 8.Nb5 to exchange the d6 bishop, retreat it to e7 or let him exchange: after cxd6 Black has a strong center.
Castle and remove the f3 knight, the only defender of h2, with ...Ng5 or ...Nxc3 and ...Bxf3: then ...Qh4 attacks h2 together with the d6 bishop.
Bring the rook to f6 and then to h6 or g6 to add forces to the attack on the white king.

Master tips

The pawn fork on e4

The e4 knight looks attackable, but it is defended by f5 and Bb7.