The Nimzo-Indian is one of the most respected Indian defences: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. Black pins the c3 knight, fights for e4 and is ready to damage White's pawns. The main branches are gathered here: the Rubinstein System, the Classical System, the Saemisch Variation and the Leningrad System. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
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The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The Nimzo-Indian is named after Aron Nimzowitsch, one of the founders of hypermodernism. With 3...Bb4 Black pins the c3 knight, the defender of the key e4 square, and prepares to control the centre with pieces rather than pawns.
The main idea is pressure on e4 and the threat of trading the bishop for the c3 knight, damaging White's pawn structure with doubled c-pawns. In return White gets the bishop pair and a pawn centre - the opening's eternal strategic argument.
The Nimzo-Indian is considered one of the most reliable and at the same time richest defences to 1.d4; players of every style, from positional to attacking, keep it in their repertoire.
The most popular is the Rubinstein System 4.e3: White develops modestly and does not rush to fix the structure. The Classical System 4.Qc2 prepares in advance to recapture on c3 with the queen and avoid the doubled pawns.
The Saemisch Variation 4.a3 puts the question to the bishop at once, deliberately accepting doubled pawns for the bishop pair and a big centre. The Leningrad System 4.Bg5 develops the bishop actively, pressing on the f6 knight and e4.
The move 3...Bb4 pins the c3 knight and takes control of e4 away from White - that is the whole idea of the Nimzo-Indian. Black is willing to give up the bishop pair if in return he damages White's pawn structure: after ...Bxc3 bxc3 White has doubled pawns on the c-file, and they stay weak to the end of the game.
Then comes the choice of set-up. With ...c5 and ...d5 Black strikes at the centre directly. With ...b6 and ...Bb7 he builds pressure on the long diagonal and steps up his control of e4. The classical formation ...0-0, ...d5, ...c5 simply completes development and holds the position.
The main thing is not to trade the bishop on c3 without a reason. The pin is useful in itself: as long as it holds, White cannot play e2-e4 and his whole plan is stuck.
There are several answers to the pin, and they lead to very different positions. The most popular is 4.e3 (the Rubinstein System): White develops calmly, prepares Bd3 and Ne2 or Nf3, and plays e3-e4 at the right moment. A universal, reliable choice.
4.Qc2 is the classical answer: White defends the c3 knight in advance so as not to end up with doubled pawns after the exchange. The price is a lost tempo and an undeveloped queenside. 4.a3 (the Saemisch) is the critical decision: White forces the exchange and deliberately accepts the doubled pawns, gaining the two bishops and a powerful e4+d4 centre.
If you choose the Saemisch, remember to play actively. The two bishops and the centre only pay off in an open position - in a closed game the doubled pawns become a permanent burden.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
After 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0. A flexible positional struggle: Black presses on the centre with ...c5 and ...d5, White relies on the bishop pair.
After 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6. White has the bishop pair with no doubled pawns; Black fights for the light squares and e4 with the fianchetto.
After 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3. White has doubled c-pawns and a big centre, Black has play against the weak pawns and control of the light squares.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
By giving up the bishop for the c3 knight you deliberately hand White the bishop pair in exchange for his doubled c-pawns. It is a strategic trade: from then on you blockade and attack those pawns, rather than hunting for tempi.
If White gets e4 in unopposed and unfolds the pawn centre, his bishop pair comes alive and the kingside attack turns dangerous. Fight for e4 with pieces (...d5, ...Ne4, the ...b6 and ...Bb7 fianchetto).
White's doubled c3-c4 pawns support the centre but are weak in the endgame. Do not open the position early (that revives the bishops) - first fix the pawns and target them in a long game.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
To damage White's pawn structure: after ...Bxc3 bxc3 White has doubled c-pawns that Black will attack. In return White gets the bishop pair - and that trade is the opening's central strategic argument.
Yes, it is one of the most respected and best-tested defences to 1.d4. It is solid, flexible and suits players of any style. Almost every world champion of the second half of the twentieth century kept it in the repertoire.
It is the sharp line 4.a3, where White makes the bishop commit at once: after 4...Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 he has doubled c-pawns, but two bishops and a strong centre in return. A maximum-stakes game: either the centre crushes Black, or the weak pawns decide the endgame.
The key move is the early pin 3...Bb4 and the fight for e4 in particular. In the other Indian defences (the King's Indian, the Grunfeld) Black fianchettoes the bishop on g7; in the Nimzo he puts it on b4 and presses the c3 knight at once. A more direct, concrete approach.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
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