Nimzo-Indian DefenceE20 – E59
3…Bb4 is the purest expression of the hypermodern idea: Black controls e4 with pieces instead of occupying it with pawns. The bishop pins the knight that would support e2-e4, and White's whole opening becomes a search for a way to play that move anyway. Each solution has a cost. 4.e3 is solid and slow. 4.Qc2 avoids the doubled pawns and spends two tempi doing it. 4.a3 forces the trade at once and accepts a permanent structural weakness on c3 and c4 in exchange for the two bishops. What Black gets in every case is a position with no weaknesses, a clear plan — blockade the doubled pawns, play …d5 or …c5 against the centre, and trade the pieces White needs for an attack — and the reputation of being the hardest defence to beat in chess.
Played by
- Aron Nimzowitsch — the opening carries his name because he invented it and wrote the theory that explains it
- Anatoly Karpov — one of the most reliable Nimzo-Indian players in history, and a model of its quiet, restraining style
Model game
Lautier – Karpov, Linares 1995
Next: d4
