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In this month’s update we look at fresh ideas in the Nimzo-Indian, Queen’s Indian and Bogo-Indian from games at the European Team Championship. Recent games only strengthen the argument that in modern opening preparation, the weapon of surprise is equally important as the objective strength of an idea.

Download PGN of December ’21 Nimzo and Benoni games

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Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4 d5 6 e5 Ne4 7 Bd3 c5 [E32]

4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4 d5 6 e5 Ne4 7 Bd3 c5 8 a3 Bxc3+ 9 bxc3:











Early a2-a3 lines used to be popular before 8 Nf3 took over as the main line. It’s been a number of years since this was the case, which means a2-a3 may be viewed as a surprise weapon!

A recent game continued 9...Nc6 10 Ne2 cxd4 11 cxd5!? (this is a rare choice; the main line is 11 cxd4 Qa5+ 12 Kf1) 11...exd5 12 cxd4 Bg4!:











13 f3! Bxf3! 14 gxf3 Qh4+ 15 Ng3 Nxd4 with huge complications - see Shevchenko, K - Abasov, N for all the details.

4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4 d5 6 e5 Ne4 7 Bd3 c5 8 Nf3 cxd4 9 Nxd4 Nd7:











Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is undoubtedly a leading expert in the 5 e4 variation, so it’s always worth checking his games in this line. At the European Team Championship he unleashed an early surprise with the rare 10 Bxe4!? dxe4 11 Qxe4. See Mamedyarov, S - Sargissian, G for analysis.


Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 b6 5 Nge2 Ba6 [E45]

4 e3 b6 5 Nge2 Ba6 6 a3 Be7 7 Nf4 d5 8 cxd5 Bxf1 9 dxe6 Ba6 10 exf7+ Kxf7 11 e4 Bc4:











It’s been a while since we’ve looked at the critical piece sacrifice 9 dxe6!?, so it’s due a revisit. Previously we’ve considered the forcing options 12 b3 and 12 e5. More recently 12 Be3 has come to the fore. It seems that simple development, keeping all options open, causes Black the most problems, as shown in the analysis of Lenic, L - Subelj, J.


Nimzo-Indian: 4 e3 c5 5 Bd3 Nc6 6 Nge2 [E41]

4 e3 c5 5 Bd3 cxd4 6 exd4 d5 7 cxd5 Nxd5 8 Nge2 Nc6 9 0-0 0-0 10 a3 Bd6 11 Re1!?:











11 Re1 is a relatively fresh idea which has gained some interest. White holds back for the moment on typical moves such as Bc2 and Ne4 and instead improves the rook. In a recent game, Black chose the direct plan of 11...Nxc3 12 bxc3 e5, which is a novelty.











13 Ng3! is a good response, with promising play for White. With Black lacking a knight to defend the kingside, White has obvious attacking chances - see the analysis of Gledura, B - Ivanisevic, I.


Nimzo-Indian: Karpov Variation 10 Qa4 [E54]

4 e3 0-0 5 Bd3 c5 6 Nf3 d5 7 0-0 cxd4 8 exd4 dxc4 9 Bxc4 b6 10 Qa4!?:











We’ve studied the Karpov Variation on many occasions but, as far as I’m aware, never this extremely rare move. The queen move puts the question to the black bishop, but unlike 10 a3 White is able to use the a3-square after an exchange on c3. See Nisipeanu, L - Bogner, S for details.



Queen’s Indian: 4 a3 Ba6 5 Qc2 Bb7 6 Nc3 c5 7 e4 [E12]

4 a3 Ba6 5 Qc2 Bb7 6 Nc3 c5 7 e4 cxd4 8 Nxd4 Bc5 9 Nf3!?:











10 Nf3 is rare (10 Nb3 is overwhelmingly the most common choice) but it looks very interesting. In the past, players have most likely been put off by the possibility of ...Ng4 but White needn’t be afraid of it. Furthermore, retreating to f3 allows White to play the desirable b2-b4. See Indjic, A - Agopov, M for analysis.



Bogo-Indian: 4 Nbd2 b6 5 a3 Bxd2+ 6 Qxd2 Bb7 7 e3 a5 [E11]

4 Nbd2 b6 5 a3 Bxd2+ 6 Qxd2 Bb7 7 e3 a5 8 b3 0-0 9 Be2 d6 10 0-0 Nbd7 11 Bb2 Qe7:











4...b6 is the main alternative to 4...0-0 5 a3 Be7. Black’s idea is to exchange on d2 and then set up with the typical Queen’s/ Nimzo-Indian formation ...Bb7, ...d6, ...Nbd7, etc. White may have a theoretical edge in these lines, but the straightforwardness of Black’s plan makes it an attractive option on a practical level. The recent game Suleymenov, A - Khusnutdinov, R is certainly a good advert for Black’s set-up.



Till next time, John

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Feel free to share your ideas and opinions on the Forum (the link above on the right), while subscribers with any questions can email me at JohnEmms@ChessPublishing.com.