Anti-Nimzo-Indian

The Anti-Nimzo-Indian arises after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3. Its purpose is to deny Black the Nimzo-Indian, which follows 3. Nc3 Bb4. The knight develops towards the kingside, adds control over d4 and e5, and brings castling closer. The price is some ambition. The knight blocks the f-pawn, which is a useful lever in several lines, and unlike 3. Nc3 it neither supports e4 nor contests d5. White accepts a slightly less forceful setup in return for a solid game in which quiet positional pressure remains available. The position is among the more frequently reached named positions in the Lichess database. White scores slightly better there, and engines regard the game as roughly balanced.

The most common reply by a wide margin is 3...d5. It moves the game into Queen's Gambit Declined territory, where the knight on f3 is a standard developing move and the usual transpositions apply. Engines also consider 3...h6 and 3...Be7. Both are flexible waiting moves that keep ...d5 in reserve.

The two principal Indian alternatives are close to each other in popularity. 3...Bb4+ is the Bogo-Indian Defense. The bishop still comes to b4, but it now checks rather than pins a knight on c3. That changes the theoretical reputation considerably, and the Bogo-Indian is regarded as a less demanding test for White than the Nimzo-Indian. 3...b6 is the Queen's Indian Defense. It is a quieter route in which Black seeks equality through active pieces and central exchanges. The freeing breaks are ...c5 and ...d5, or ...e5, which is usually prepared by ...d6.

Black can also choose the Benoni with 3...c5. This is considered an attractive way to reach that opening, because the knight on f3 rules out the sharp lines in which White advances f2-f4. Among the rare tries, 3...a6 is the Dzindzi-Indian Defense, and White scores well against it in the database. 3...Ne4 is the Döry Indian, an early knight sortie that seldom appears.