In this month’s update, we take a look at Nimzo-Indian and Queen’s Indian battles from recent events, including the Bundesliga and Saint Louis Masters, and focus on rare or forgotten choices in some main lines.

Nimzo-Indian
Queen's Indian

Nimzo-Indian: 4 f3 c5 [E20]

4 f3 c5 5 d5 b5 6 e4 d6 7 Bd2

Black’s two most popular choices here are 7...a6 and 7...Bxc3 8 Bxc3 b4, but going straight into a Benoni structure with the rare choice 7...exd5 8 cxd5 is also a perfectly natural-looking choice. After 8...a6, it seems that 9 a4! is the only move which challenges Black at all. See the notes to Tomczak, J - Alekseenko, K, a hugely entertaining and amazingly complicated battle.

As mentioned above, 7...Bxc3 8 Bxc3 b4 is a key line, and something with previously covered. 9 Bd2 0–0 10 Be3 exd5 11 cxd5 Nfd7 12 Nh3 f5 13 Nf4 reaches a critical position.

Modern engines and recent correspondence games have shown that 13...Qh4+! is the most accurate choice for Black here. In a recent game, Black preferred 13...Ne5 – see Fier, A - Celik, H for analysis of both moves.

Nimzo-Indian: 4 f3 d5 5 a3 Be7

4 f3 d5 5 a3 Be7 6 e4 dxe4 7 fxe4 c5 8 d5 exd5 9 cxd5!?

Recapturing with the e-pawn is by far the most popular choice here, and one we’ve covered on numerous occasions. However, the rare 9 cxd5!? was tried in a recent game and there’s certainly some appeal to maintaining two central pawns. See Mishra, A - Putnam, L for analysis.

Nimzo-Indian: 4 Nf3 0-0 [E21]

4 Nf3 0–0 5 Bg5 c5 6 Rc1 h6 7 Bh4 cxd4 8 Nxd4 d5 9 cxd5 Qxd5!?

We’ve previously covered the far more popular 9...g5 10 Bg3 Qxd5. However, the immediate 9...Qxd5 is also possible. The critical response is 10 Bxf6! gxf6 11 a3 Bxc3+ 12 Rxc3

With the rook ready to swing along the third rank, this looks scary for Black, but it’s actually playable. See the recent game Donchenko, A - Vokhidov, S for analysis.

Nimzo-Indian: 4 Qc2 0-0 5 e4 d5

4 Qc2 0–0 5 e4 d5 6 e5 Ne4 7 Bd3 c5 8 Nf3 cxd4 9 Nxd4 Nd7 10 Bf4 Ndc5

10...Qh4 continues to be the preferred choice for Black, especially at grandmaster level, but an update on the older 10...Ndc5 is due. The main line continues 11 0–0 Bxc3 12 bxc3 Nxd3 13 Qxd3 b6

Modern engines believe that Black is perfectly okay in this line. However, White’s attacking chances on the kingside means that it’s quite easy for Black to go wrong, which is the likely reason for the drop-off in the popularity of 10...Ndc5.

14 cxd5 is played in virtually every game reaching this position. However, in a recent game White instead chose the novelty. 14 Qe3!?. After the obvious response 14...Ba6!, it was demonstrated that White can sacrifice the exchange here with 15 cxd5!. See Kunin, V - Dotzer, L analysis of 14 Qe3 and also an update on 14 cxd5.

Nimzo-Indian
Queen's Indian

Queen’s Indian: 4 g3 Bb7 5 Bg2 Be7 6 0–0 0–0 7 d5 [E17]

4 g3 Bb7 5 Bg2 Be7 6 0–0 0–0 7 d5 exd5 8 Nh4 c6 9 cxd5 Nxd5 10 Nf5 Nc7 11 e4 d5

The 7 d5 gambit remains a critical try for White in the 4 g3 Queen’s Indian. It scores well, most likely because of its practical value. We’ve previously considered the main line 12 Nc3, and also 12 exd5 which was played by AlphaZero. Another option for White is 12 Re1 Bf6 13 e5

This is the possibility gained by playing Re1. The bishop is forced back and the e5-pawn may be used as a spearhead for the kingside attack. On the other hand, there’s no longer the same pressure in the centre. See the recent game Zilka, S - Shengelia, D for details.

Till next time, John.

Feel free to share your ideas and opinions on the Forum, while subscribers with any questions or analysis can email me at johnemms@chesspublishing.com.