Nimzoindian Defence

The Nimzo-Indian Defence enjoys an excellent reputation as a strategically active opening against 1.d4. The pioneer of the move 3...Bb4 was Aaron Nimzowitsch (1886–1935), who used it to create a whole new system above all in the 1920s. Instead of directly occupying the centre with the d-pawn, (3...d5 would result in a Queen’s Gambit), Black uses his minor pieces (Nf6, Bb4) to exert pressure on the central squares e4 and d5. At first he does not decide the formation to adopt with his c-, d- and e-pawns. Additionally he is threatening to damage White’s pawn structure with an exchange on c3, which would create doubled pawns on c3/c4.