1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4
The Nimzo-Indian starts 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. The bishop pins the c3 knight, the piece that wants to support e2-e4. Black fights for the e4 square with pieces rather than pawns.
Black is often willing to give up the bishop pair with ...Bxc3. In return White gets doubled c-pawns, which become a long-term target. The play is strategic, but there is plenty of tactical tension around e4 and c4.
Because the pin is so effective, many White players avoid it with 3.Nf3 or 3.g3. That is how the Queen's Indian (3.Nf3 b6) and the Catalan come about.
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Black fights for the centre with pieces, often trades bishop for knight to double White's pawns, and gets a sound position with clear targets. It is one of the most respected defences in chess.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.O-O Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Qc7
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The typical Nimzo-Indian structure is the doubled c-pawn complex. After ...Bxc3 bxc3 White has pawns on c3 and c4. They control d4 and d5 but cannot defend each other, so Black targets c4 with pieces.
White's compensation is the bishop pair and a strong centre. If White can play e3-e4 and open lines, the bishops become powerful. Black wants a closed position where the knights are as good as bishops.
In the Classical (4.Qc2) White recaptures on c3 with the queen, so there are no doubled pawns. The fight is then about e4, which Black contests with ...d5, or with ...b6, ...Bb7 and ...Ne4.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7
White prepares to recapture with the queen after ...Bxc3, keeping a healthy pawn structure. After 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6, Black fights for e4 with the bishop on b7. It is also called the Capablanca Variation.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.Bd3
White forces the issue: after 4...Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 White has the bishop pair and doubled c-pawns from move five. Black targets c4 with ...c5, ...Nc6, ...b6 and ...Ba6.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3
White simply develops and, after 4...c5, fianchettoes with 5.g3. It avoids the long theoretical debates of the main lines.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4 c5 6.d5
White pins the f6 knight in turn. After 4...h6 5.Bh4 c5 6.d5, White gains space and Black looks for counterplay with ...b5 or ...d6 and ...e5.
The defence is named after Aron Nimzowitsch, who developed it in the 1910s and 1920s as part of his hypermodern ideas: control the centre with pieces, then strike.
It has been a main line at world championship level ever since. José Raúl Capablanca gave his name to 4.Qc2, Akiba Rubinstein to 4.e3 and Friedrich Sämisch to 4.a3, and champions from Botvinnik to Karpov and Kasparov have played it from both sides.
Copy the position at the end of the main line, open the chess move calculator, paste it into the “Paste FEN” box under the board and press the FEN button next to it. Stockfish 19 then suggests a move for the side to play, at the strength set on the calculator's slider, and you can play on from there to test your own ideas.
r1b2rk1/ppq2ppp/2n1pn2/2p5/2BP4/P1P1PN2/5PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 1 111. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Qc7For a move-by-move review of a whole game you played with this opening, use the chess analysis board.
Knowing the moves is not the same as playing them under pressure. Play chess against the computer with the black pieces and answer 1.d4 with the Nimzo-Indian Defense, then sharpen the tactics that come out of it with chess puzzles.
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It fights for the centre with pieces, gives Black a sound pawn structure and creates long-term targets in White's camp. White has no line that gives a clear advantage, which is why it has been played at the top for a century.
The Rubinstein (4.e3) and the Classical (4.Qc2) are the main lines. Many players avoid the opening altogether with 3.Nf3, which leads to the Queen's Indian or the Bogo-Indian instead.
It is sound and logical, but its value lies in understanding pawn structures and bishop-versus-knight play. Improving players who like positional chess learn a lot from it.
The Nimzo-Indian arises after 3.Nc3 Bb4, with the pin on the c3 knight. The Queen's Indian arises after 3.Nf3 b6. There is no knight on c3 to pin, so Black fights for e4 with the bishop on b7 instead.
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