As Black
Nimzo-Indian Defence
The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening for Black that starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4.
...Bb4 pins the c3 knight and fights for e4. One of the most solid defences against 1.d4.
Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero
10 lines
4.f3 d5 5.a3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.dxc5 f5 9.c4 Qf6 10.Bd2 Nc3
2...e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nf3 Bf5
4.e3 b6 5.Ne2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Ne2 Ba6 6.a3 Be7 7.Nf4 d5 8.cxd5 Bxf1 9.Kxf1 exd5 10.g4 c6
4.f3 c5 5.d5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 c5 5.d5 O-O 6.e4 b5 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 bxc4 9.Bxc4 d6 10.Ne2 exd5
2...e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5 c5 5.d5 h6 6.Bh4 d6 7.e3 e5 8.Bd3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qe7 10.Ne2 e4
3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 cxd4 9.exd4 b6 10.Bg5 Bb7
2...e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 O-O 5.Nf3 d5 6.e3 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 c5 9.a3 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Ba6
2...e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3 c5 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.Nf3 Ne4 7.Bd2 Nxd2 8.Nxd2 O-O 9.e3 a5 10.a3 a4
4.e3 b6 5.Bd3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.a3 Bd6
2...e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.g3 Bb7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O c5 8.d5 Bxc3 9.bxc3 d6 10.Nh4 Qc7
Frequently asked questions
Is the Nimzo-Indian Defence good for beginners?
It is better suited to experienced players. On OpeningCraft it is aimed at players with Elo over 2000. It suits players who prefer long-term plans and pawn structure.
How many lines of the Nimzo-Indian Defence do you need to learn?
OpeningCraft teaches 10, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.