I was wondering if anyone could share their opinions on a set up for white against the Nimzo Indian. Following a recent success I'm considering studying the 4.a3 line in more detail (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3).
Although it may not be whites strongest route it seems to offer the advantage of being easier to learn or a least become familiar with...a big plus for me as I'm looking for something gameworthy OTB.
So given limited study time what would your suggestion be.
(NB: I spend most time playing games here or studying tactics and endgames...and I'm familiar with the arguments about not studying openings)
Originally posted by MahoutI play it. It surely allows fun, double-edged games which is good for a change for me considering I usually play positionally.
I was wondering if anyone could share their opinions on a set up for white against the Nimzo Indian. Following a recent success I'm considering studying the 4.a3 line in more detail (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3).
Although it may not be whites strongest route it seems to offer the advantage of being easier to learn or a least become familiar with. ...[text shortened]... dying tactics and endgames...and I'm familiar with the arguments about not studying openings)
I think the following line is critical: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 c5 6. f3 d5 7. cxd5 Nxd5!
I doubt white can demonstrate any advantage there.
Also, lines where black simply allows white to setup the centre with f3 and e4 contain some bite. Take for example http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1042835
This game got me hooked on initially:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1072299
I play 4. f3, which I consider to be somewhat more logical and reliable than 4. a3. The line mentioned previously is the main line of 4. f3, but I'll take it a little further:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5! Qa5 9. e4 Ne7 10. Be3 0-0 11. Qb3 Qc7! 12. Bb5!? is my preference for White. With best play Black should be fine, but I believe this position is easier to play for White. He's up a pawn and has the two bishops. Any type of lazy or inaccurate play on black's part will just simply let White keep all the advantages, so black has to play well for the next 5-10 moves to guarantee a good game. I'd recommend Yakovich's book on 4. f3. Even though it's quite small, it's well done, and he's been playing the line for a while now.
Originally posted by !~TONY~!Against 4.f3 I prefer 4...c5 with idea of 5.d5 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 d6 which in my opinion is slightly better for black.
I play 4. f3, which I consider to be somewhat more logical and reliable than 4. a3. The line mentioned previously is the main line of 4. f3, but I'll take it a little further:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5! Qa5 9. e4 Ne7 10. Be3 0-0 11. Qb3 Qc7! 12. Bb5!? is my preference for White. With best play Black ...[text shortened]... though it's quite small, it's well done, and he's been playing the line for a while now.
If you're just looking for a solid way to play against it, 3. Nf3 (instead of 3. Nc3) is a fine way to play. One setup that can easily arise is a kingside fianchetto, like in the following:
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 (4... Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O is also a typical structure) 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 is one possible line.
On the other hand, 3. Nc3 is also perfectly fine and can lead to sharper games. As a fourth move, personally I play the classical (4. Qc2), but 4. e3 and 4. Nf3 are also typical ways to approach it. 4. a3 and 4. f3 I find are somewhat committal moves, not to say that they're bad of course - they both have some interesting ideas.
Originally posted by KorchJust out of curiousity Korch, which specific line after that do you have in mind? On chessgames.com's database, out of 15 games after 7. e4 e5 8. Bd3! White wins about half the time and draws one third of the time. Yakovich gives 8...Nbd7! 9. Ne2 Nf8 10. h4!? and 10. Be3!? in his book, both of which look slightly better for White. White has more space, and can really play on either side of the board depending on where Black parks his king.
Against 4.f3 I prefer 4...c5 with idea of 5.d5 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 d6 which in my opinion is slightly better for black.
Originally posted by !~TONY~!Yakovich's book is excellent, for anyone wanting to play 4.f3.
Just out of curiousity Korch, which specific line after that do you have in mind? On chessgames.com's database, out of 15 games after 7. e4 e5 8. Bd3! White wins about half the time and draws one third of the time. Yakovich gives 8...Nbd7! 9. Ne2 Nf8 10. h4!? and 10. Be3!? in his book, both of which look slightly better for White. White has more space, and can really play on either side of the board depending on where Black parks his king.
I used to play 4.e3 and Ne2, but switched to 4.f3 after buying this book.
Originally posted by !~TONY~!Black are not obliged to play 7...e5. I would definitely prefer more flexible moves like 7...0-0.
Just out of curiousity Korch, which specific line after that do you have in mind? On chessgames.com's database, out of 15 games after 7. e4 e5 8. Bd3! White wins about half the time and draws one third of the time. Yakovich gives 8...Nbd7! 9. Ne2 Nf8 10. h4!? and 10. Be3!? in his book, both of which look slightly better for White. White has more space, and can really play on either side of the board depending on where Black parks his king.