Nimzo-Indian as Black

After 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3 5. bxc3 c5 we reach this position:



I've come upon this position twice as black in these two games.

Game 2177436
Game 2148117

It seems I can't handle this position very well. Can anybody give me a clear plan/idea for black in this position? I've had a little bit of tactical help with the game with corkchessman, but the principals of the position seem to elude me (at least the don't coincide with what I thought they were). Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

Originally posted by EnigmaticCam
After 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3 5. bxc3 c5 we reach this position:

[fen]rnbqk2r/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/2p5/2PP4/P1P5/4PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1[/fen]

I've come upon this position twice as black in these two games.

Game 2177436
Game 2148117

It seems I can't handle this position very well. Can anybody give me a clear plan/i ...[text shortened]... on't coincide with what I thought they were). Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm not an expert on this line, but I think in the first one you played the opening well, but lost it in the middlegame. The second was a complete disaster. So, what's going on in this position is the question, I guess:



White has the advantage of the two bishops, and more space. However, the board isn't completely open yet for the two bishops to attack on, and white's doubled c-pawns are potentially weak. He's also very slightly behind in development.

Given this, black should plan to keep the board closed, and to keep white at arm's length. Later on, when his king is safe and pieces developed, he can start to attack the c-pawns. If I were playing black, I'd probably be thinking of ideas like, c5, b6, d6, e5, Ba6, Rc8, Nc6-a5. You might want to delay castling, as the king might in fact prove to be safer on the queenside. White's plan will probably be to get a big centre going with e4 and f4, and then try to blast you off the board - you need also to be ready to defend.

Ah, okay. Thanks for the help! 🙂

Originally posted by EnigmaticCam
After 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3 5. bxc3 c5 we reach this position:

[fen]rnbqk2r/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/2p5/2PP4/P1P5/4PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1[/fen]

I've come upon this position twice as black in these two games.

Game 2177436
Game 2148117

It seems I can't handle this position very well. Can anybody give me a clear plan/i ...[text shortened]... on't coincide with what I thought they were). Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

The Nimzo-Indian is my favourite opening as Black against 1 d4, and the Samiesch variation where White plays 4 a3 can give Black a good game with good play IMHO. TommyC is correct in his post about the strategy of the Nimzo when facing the Samiesch variation: that is, blockade the centre where Black's two knights are superior to White's two bishops. The doubled C-pawns are a weakness, they are definite targets to attack in the middlegame. But I think keeping the position closed is the most important goal. White will obviously want to build a big centre, and open up the position so that the bishops will dominate. You have to 'hold the line' as long as possible so that the position doesn't fall open to White. This is a positional opening where there is lots of opportunity for strategic manouevering as opposed to sharp tactics.

I looked at the two games: the first one was played quite well, you even had a better position up to around move 35, when your knight took his pawn which also got pinned to your queen. Instead of that, you should have probably played 35...Qe4. The second game, you didn't defend very well on the kingside. Instead of castling, you needed to chase away the bishop on g5 with ...h6. White managed to build up an attack there with some pieces and a pawn push, while most of your pieces were stuck on the queenside.

Thanks to you both! I think I have a firm understanding of this position now.