I Played This Aggressive Opening For 20 Years And Even Defeated GMs

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

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[@farouqbaiti4315]

This might help me instantly.😎

[@englishguy9680]

I learned recently that Indian openings are when the first pawn moves are only one square forward. This is because in India their rules of chess hadn’t yet adopted the convention that first pawn moves could be two squares. So there you go 😉

[@MislavIvkovic-sx8vd]

I Always ask why nobody play this move😂

[@Joacim-A]

This is why it's called Indian: Back in the 1850s chess in India was called Shatranj and in that game, the pawns could only move one step even on the first move and they couldn't castle. instead, the king could move as a knight once in the game. So a common tactic was to fianchetto the king, To quickly get close to the corner. An English lawyer, named Cochrane, had moved to India, which back then was a British colony. Cochrane was a good chess player and he met an Indian chess master,, named Moheshhander Bannerjee, after Cochrane had taught him the European rules, they played several games and Bannerjee often opened by fianchetto his bishop and attacked the center with his pieces instead of his pawns. This was very uncommon in Europe at the time, Since the games were recorded and published in an English newspaper, other chess players in England started to use these types of moves in the opening. So that's why these types of openings were named Indian-style openings.

[@TanmayPRIME]

Underrated comment 🗿

[@tNag556]

must have been a very cool time when new stuff on chess blew everybody's minds. The meta is so stale now, when Chess 2?

[@robertadamczuk5608]

Great comment. Thank you.

[@kuyadong6791]

I only knew that it is called "Indian" because the indians just move the pawns one square only in the opening. I didn't know these meticulous details. Thanks.

[@celiane2]

Why no Indian wife?? 😭😭😭

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 Nimzo-Indian Defense Chess Opening For Black 01:04 The problem with the Nimzo-Indian (why they don't play it) 01:50 1) White plays 4.Nf3 03:34 Fianchetto the Queenside Bishop 05:12 Kingside attacking plan for Black 07:07 Nasty checkmating threats 10:18 If White attacks with Ba3 13:25 If White doesn't play g3 14:45 2) White plays 4.e3 16:54 3) White plays 4.a3 19:00 4) White plays 4.Qc2 20:26 5) White plays 4.Bg5 23:50 If White plays Rc1 to defend c3

[@farouqbaiti4315]

All the lines are helpful.😎

[@WalkerBrown-t6z]

What if they play f3

[@pandeyprabal3830]

Hey you don't give a weapon Against the white move f3

[@ieat948bushes]

Pin it

[@ReflectionOcean]

00:00:00 Nimzo-Indian Defense: Strategic and aggressive opening for black. 00:00:23 Control Central Squares: Utilize minor pieces for active play. 00:01:42 Simplified Aggressive Setup: Focus on one effective strategy. 00:01:55 Knight to F3: Common move in response to Nimzo-Indian Defense. 00:02:01 Knight to E4: Strategic move to block opponent's central pawn. 00:03:39 Bishop Development: Utilize Bishop to control key squares. 00:04:46 Trade Dark-Square Bishop: Strengthen position and create weaknesses. 00:05:30 Kingside Castling: Transition to attacking position against opponent's king. 00:06:32 Queen H4 Maneuver: Position queen for a potential checkmate. 00:07:14 Exploiting Knight D2 Move: Capitalize on opponent's positional weaknesses. 00:08:08 Queen G4: Threatening mate and controlling key squares. 00:10:10 Rook Lift: Mobilize rooks for a coordinated attack on opponent's king. 00:11:00 Bishop A3 Mistake: Exploiting opponent's positional errors. 00:14:15 Gradual Attack Development: Methodical approach to building pressure. 00:15:26 Flexible Response: Adapting strategy based on opponent's moves. 00:16:06 Strategic chess gameplay insights. 00:16:13 Utilizing pawn and knight positioning. 00:17:00 Counterattacking opponent's disruptive moves effectively. 00:18:08 Leveraging tactical opportunities with Queen H4 check. 00:20:27 Exploiting opponent's weaknesses in pawn structure. 00:20:50 Responding to Bishop G5 with the zigzag system. 00:21:12 Seizing control of the board with Pawn C5. 00:22:29 Capitalizing on opponent's positional errors for advantage. 00:23:28 Demonstrating strategic superiority through tactical exchanges.

[@Zyrexia]

What ai did u use?

[@ElevateYourrLife]

I am in my 70's and used to study the Nimzo. Indeed all the lines are complicated, but this system makes it simple! Great video! I went through your channel to see what you would recommend against the Trompowski, but noticed that you only have videos from white's side. How about a video on a good line against the Trompowski? That would be a perfect complement to this video in case white goes Bg5 on move one and bypasses this system.

[@zxien1]

For a simple setup against the Trompowsky there are typically 2 main ways of playing it: Either an early c5 which is complicated, or the more classical approach that top players like Anand would employ where you get a solid position with the bishop pair with D5/C6. Typically you get a system of pawns on h7,g6,f5,f7,d5,c6 and you place your light squared bishop on e6, bring your knight from the queenside over to f6, then e4 and fianchetto your dark squared bishop and castle. Not necessarily that exact order, but you can typically achieve that final setup no matter what white does. This system is typically achieved with the move D5 or C6 against the Trompowsky where white in inclined to trade their bishop or risk questioning why it went there once black puts his other knight on d7. There is not a whole lot white can do to stop this plan either which is another reason why it's popular since it's an easy to remember solution against the Trompowsky. C5 however is indeed the most testing move and arguably the refutation, but can boast quite a deep amount of theory for a sideline you may not want to invest much time towards.

[@windsore-p6y]

Excellent! 👏👏👏

[@tNag556]

"Maybe he dreamed about an indian wife? I don't know" caught me off guard lol peak comedy xD

[@RogueEva]

instead, he dreamt about double pawn move :D

[@baydrixnewzealandwarrobotf2681]

4:45 i got this far and decided your my new favourite chess youtuber.. new world order in my book 1.Igor 2. Gothem 3. Agaganamin

[@kylezo]

Alex banzea is great too

[@RogueEva]

i can tell you why it's called indian - in india, pawns could move only one square, therefore all openings without double pawn moves are called indian something. imo

[@JakeJrXl]

Thank you! This is very helpful. I hope I apply these things in my games successfully.

[@acerimr]

The "Indian"in the nimzo Indian refers to the pawn only moving one square in the opening, as old Indian chess rules did not allow a pawn to move 2 spaces on it's first action

[@kinghsingyeh]

RCA is the best chess teaching channel on youtube, you deserve millions of subs

[@careyphelps4845]

Such a great video!! I've been playing this for awhile and I don't remember where I started learning it. But this video helps with a lot of gaps in my play. Thanks so much!!

[@felix.gulsrud6271]

I discovered your channel a week ago, sir. You are great teacher! I discovered this channel about a week ago. Now I subscribe, of course. You are teaching a lot of tactics in the openings, that patzers like me are not aware of. Yes, I realise that my opponents will not be playing all that weak moves; but we need to learn how to take advantage of them anyway, in case they do. I appreciate the apparently trite advices, like "take is mistake", because your target group really need to be reminded. These are perhaps the first building blocks to a future strategic understanding.

[@lohitakshanavneeth]

superb video a much needed one as i was looking for a solid and aggressive opening against black. Keep up the good work

[@diegogiordana819]

Excellent channel. Compliments!!. However, I would like there to be more videos about the mediumgame and the ending.

[@erwinbal]

Very instructive, now I have better understanding of the nimzo indian Thank you so much coach!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad it was helpful!

[@StreetArtistsOfTheWorld]

7:54 How is checkmate when the pawn from F2 can come forward?

[@SparkSovereign]

Because the knight is the one delivering the check, the bishop is just supporting.

[@alexmanning7110]

Excellent video! My favorite of all your videos. You make chess fun to play by taking away the grind of endless preparation.

[@Nathan-of3io]

The best chess teacher on the internet!! Your videos helped me alot, slava Igor Smirnov i slava шахи !

[@flpsnk4848]

Finally a Nimzo lecture! I actually found out Ne4 is very effective against Nf3 variations (until someone on a tourney played f3, sad times) but I wouldn't have guessed such awesome mating ideas are possible. I just knew something, something, probably rook lift. Awesome stuff, thanks!

[@KS-ep1vr]

Awesome! Thank you. Very clear explanation. Thumbs up and subscribed.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thank you for watching!

[@robertoZX64]

This is fantastic material, thanks a lot!

[@onkarlaldevara8020]

Thank you so much that you made this channel for chess players as your stratagies, plans,openings are really nice. The first game I played with this opening I won that game.

[@jacklondon8385]

I dont know why but every time I try your openings at 1800 rating my opponent always does a weird move that ruins my plans

[@manoftheforest7505]

That is because 1800's are generally a bit stronger than the hypothetical White player in this video. ;)

[@Xaviercommentsection]

@@manoftheforest7505 nah whit eis playing the top moves its the lower lvl players who dont play like the vid

[@laurencechen1111]

Nice transposition trick from Nimzo to Dutch Defence!!!

[@GeorgeWowchak]

I played a game that went like this: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qf3 f5 4. exf5. At this point I played d6. What should I I have played instead? What are the most likely moves White would have played next? In each case what would have been my best reply?

[@GlorifiedTruth]

At 7:50, Na6++ is actually a blunder. "A knight on the rim is dim."

[@maaifoediedelarey4335]

My new go-to 1.d4 Opening ! Already making my Lichess Study

[@graccusbro2061]

same

[@joseluisdiazprieto4369]

No. It is not called Indian because Nimzowitch dreamed about an Indian wife. It is because in India, during XVII century, players practiced Indian chess, where you can only advance pawns to the third row (not two squares). Additionally, in the middle of the XIX century, a great Indian player, Banerjee, defeated the scott Cochrane in Calculta by using intensively fianchettos (something logical, according to the legacy of Indian chess pawn movement rules); then, Cochrane, when commenting his games in Calcutta, was who introduced the term "Indian Defenses". Almost a century after, Sultan Khan used intensively Queen's Indian Defense; that contributed to the association of the term "Indian" to black fianchettos on d4 openings.

[@erikfromc]

What's your preferred method of dealing with 3. Nf3 instead of 3. Nc3?

[@michaeljsprague]

Spoiler alert: your opponents will not play any of these moves.

[@konroh2]

That's true, it doesn't always happen, but knowing the ideas is helpful for strategic play.

[@shitpostmania6061]

Thats why it said "no theory". It provides ideas and strategy to play against what your opponent plays.

[@Averagebum21]

@Remote Chess Academy, this was very good, GM Smirnov. Many thanks for sharing.

[@jamalchess9681]

Thank so much Igor..I realy like this kind of instructive video.. please ..any idea how to play against kan sicilian? 🥀🥀🥀

[@eilon6765]

When I play as black, my go to opening was kings Indian defense, but I always forgot what to do after about 6 moves. I think I accidentally played this opening one game without realizing, and I like this one way more. Thank you for the guide

[@PrashanthHV-st2yu]

Thank you man I was looking for a opening that guards off queens ga gambit

[@masterbeethoven8209]

Whoah, not sure how I haven't found this channel before, this is some of the best content i've seen.

[@cscscscscscscscscscscs]

What a great video! Wow thanks 🙏

[@meatonthetable1602]

I have been playing for 30+ years and this is absolute Gem to know...Thank so much for this cant wait to play this in tournament!

[@thetransferaccount4586]

very simple nimzo indian system described here.. shall have to try it out

[@kshitiz6376]

Loving the content, and even the dad jokes 10:24

[@amitavabongoboyychakrabort5930]

Thankyou so much GM igor for making this video... As I encounter d4 with budapest gambit but most of the time attacked fails... Now I will play this system and crush my opponent

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Glad this was helpful for you💛

[@aniketbhave]

In all the openings where it says “indian”, you will see single square pawn push vs 2. That’s why these openings are called as Indian defence. In old age there wasn’t a rule that allowed you to push pawn by 2 squares.

[@EdSuastegui]

A fairly straight-forward buster for this "System" is 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. Nf3 Ne4 5. Qc2 f5 6. Nd2 (pin broken, so must chop on c3) Bxc3 7. bxc3 and now the Knight on e4 is not long for this world. One attempt is to bolster it with 7...d5, so at least Black can take with the f-pawn and occupy e4 that way, but once White plays 8. Ba3!!, the White King is hopelessly stuck in the center of the board.

[@WithoutJustice]

All the Indian Defenses, that I know, usually start with 1.d4. Nf6.(King's Indian, Gruenfeld Indian, Nimzo Indian, Bogo Indian. (Exception:King's Indian Attack for white.)

[@CastlesKingSide]

So basically, you aim to transpose into the Rubinstein variation of the Dutch, without the risk of facing the Staunton, or that g4 gambit I can never remember its name. Sweet

[@gladeon-hb9iu]

Finally I can turn my brain off

[@horaciomlhh]

Great variations simple and deadly

[@shrirangbondale2263]

Anish giri shared a story explaining why openings have INDIAN added to the name. in past there was a rule in Indian chess, pawn moved only 1 step per move, so every opening like e6,d6 is called "something something Indian"

[@noecasarrubios6043]

@gmigorsmirnov thank you for all your videos. Do you prefer this system vs Benoni? and why?

[@mohammadsulieman6213]

I beat a player who became NM later with nimzo-indian defense a few years ago and he played f3 variation.

[@graccusbro2061]

i love it. Immediately adding this line to my repertoire... i just hope few people check this video out LOL

[@lars-christianheinz6902]

As a Dutch player I like the ideas. Interesting move order!

[@Nick_Craddock]

I love the fun thumbnail for this video. It made me laugh.

[@Sandfox07]

I found one flaw here I think, because in the Qc2 line after Nf3 b6 White can play g4 it seems like? It looks super unpleasant and its +1 for white. A better try in spirit of this system would be to simply castle instead of Bxc3 and only after a3 you finally take and go Ne4 and then you can play the usual system.

[@MarcinP2]

Playing against Wendy bot White goes Bishop d2 instead of kc3. I can also comment, although to be expected, that the unusual, chaotic position does not give bots issues, they just calculate the board and find one winning move.

[@italiantony7380]

Is there any chance you can cover the Bogo-Indian or the Queen's Indian in future lectures? I would really appreciate it.

[@ChrisUrquhart-z8k]

5.Qc2 prevents 5...Ne4 This is generally what's done in correspondence.

I haven't won a SINGLE game trying this opening so far - simply because my opponents keep playing the classical London and none of this seems to work (around 1200 rating range in rapid). Help?

[@Sandfox07]

There are many great options against the london, one aggressive one is 1.d4-Nf6 2.Bf4-d5 3.e3-c5 4.c3-Nc6 5.Nf3-Qb6 for example. You dont have to play Qb6 of course, in general setups with a pawn on d5 and c5 and knights on f6 and c6 are very good against the london

​@@Sandfox07but that's not the Nimzo Indian for black then? I thought this video covered the responses to d4 with the Nimzo Indian?

[@Sandfox07]

You can only play the nimzo if white allows it. The nimzo only occurs after the specific moves d4 Nf6 c4 e6 Nc3 Bb4. Everything else is not a nimzo. You cant play a nimzo against the london. You could try to play e6 b6 Bb7 against it, thats also a good setup I guess

@@Sandfox07 that was precisely my original point. 🙂 Unless I'm mistaken, the entire video is around the Queen's Gambit opening by white, to which you can then play the Nimzo. I find the title bombastic given most players don't play the Queen's Gambit these days as white. He should've cemented the point the Nimzo only works under these circumstances.

...I just realized the Nimzo might work against the Jobava London alongside the Queen's Gambit too. Not a bad video, but failing to mention clearly against which exact openings by white you can use the Nimzo is an oversight..

[@peter5196]

Fantastic video. I have 2 questions. What about 4.Hb3 and 3.Sf3?

[@Alexandergea-lk9gg]

Please sir , alekhine defense for black .. I love GM Bortnyk how play that opening

[@babarsingh6452]

What if opp pushes pawn a3 to remove pin at start

[@ccemcoffingonzalez5304]

GMIgor - can you help when black plays nf3 not nc3 (Bogo Indian)?

[@higgledypiggledycubledy8899]

I've been playing the same opening for 30 years: 1.e4 ( or e5 as black), then play chess as of move 2.

[@twinpeaksVVV]

What if white plays 4. Bd2 removing the pin? What is black's best move?

[@robertpaul8542]

This is what I asked for. Thanks ❤️

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

❤️

[@markhunter9303]

Pros and cons of this system vs 1..f5 and going for the same ideas please?

[@marksmit8112]

You should have kept this one under wraps Igor. Now I will bring the pain! 😀Thanks mate

[@varietybacon]

recently won with this in under a minute, thank you man

[@WhistlingRabbit]

I like these suggestions for Black but when I play White I play 4 f3 which stops 4...Ne4. With the main line for Black it is interesting that 11 f3 seems to neutralize the Black attack.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

▶ GM Smirnov is on Instagram! Follow now for engaging, bite-sized chess content - instagram.com/gm.igorsmirnov/

[@christianjohansen6182]

Why no Bxe4? Instead of Nd2 at 6:19

[@jezuschryzt]

this is basically just the dutch defence after 7 moves

[@desmyt67]

With the bishop on b7 it reminds me of the owen defence.. and look! It's one of Igor Smirnov fav openings too xD :P

[@abj136]

My problem with the Nimzo is 3. Nf3. I guess I could try Bb4+ and hope for Nc3.

[@elasmojones]

He's an evil wizard, run!

[@jefftaylor1186]

Remember when 1. a4 2. Ra3 wasn’t theory? Man those were the days.

[@skeptic_swamya]

23:21 knight takes d5 isn't a blunder doesn't opponent wins knight with queen check ?

[@genericalfishtycoon3853]

I theorize someone was having a fun day when they made this thumbnail.

[@MohamedRedaBokhabrine]

Btw its named "indian" because in the indian variant of chess (the old chess) pawns could only move 1 square, thats why the queens indian, the kings indian etc... are named indian bc u move the pawn only 1 square

[@3000sergei]

- My secret no theory variation! (goes half an hour of theory)

[@Holmes-c7h]

great video!

[@SpokiBu]

Спасибо, классное видео! Будет совсем нагло спросить что играем на 4.f3 ? :)

[@Naborbukv2]

22:55 they always play Nd2

[@Awed1b]

What if he moves his bishop to g5 as soon as your knight moves to f6? Does it then just become regular chess?

[@raphaelhudson]

Isnt this really a classical Dutch by transposition?

[@sholikhinsy8053]

What if white try to close B2-H8 line with his D or C pawn ?

[@anonymousperson007-ck1jj]

what if Nd2 after f5? f5 looks overcommitted because of that.

[@domidomi2593]

The nimzo indian is one of the most theoretical openings in all of chess 😭

[@Kadungiz]

I like more on dutch defense system

[@TymexComputing]

Its called nimzo-indian because of b7 pawn and a fianchetto - called black's queens indian. They played that way in India - the indian - but nimzo indian is a second degree approximate, no need to answer why is it indian - just why is it nimzo indian.

[@BobChess]

My friend plays Queen's gambit and I always lose. Now the table is flipped

[@cyin974]

No theory? I don't understand, wasn't that theory?

[@yzfool6639]

Typically, knowing "theory" means knowing all the 'only' moves to keep the advantage or balance in the position. No theory means you can use ideas (typically principles or priyomes) to narrow down the correct move. Since that is how chess is played positionalyl anyway, you need no theory to find such moves. You just need to know how to play (principled) chess correctly.

[@MislavIvkovic]

I always ask why nobody play knight e4 😂😂😂

[@marcosouzaa]

Is like the London system, is more about put your pieces in the right places and give u ideias. A free beautiful system to play.

[@theycallmekowalski]

Yeah right, no theory... Point is, when one wants to play the Nimzo, he should also have an answer to the Queen's Indian, Catalan, English to name but a few. It is not just Nimzo theory. That is why i prefer the Queen's Gambit Declined or Slav.

[@vishvavibrates6252]

It is all tatics

[@rudrakshsharma1416]

Make a video of (SEMI SLAV) PLZ................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@matthewdrake9067]

So, it's basically the dutch in a different move order?

[@ahmadhusain3756]

That transposed to Dutch defense

[@MacrNostaski]

what if they play f3 instead of nc3?

[@yooneunhyesarang9245]

Very useful against minnows of mine😂❤❤

[@kh_raza]

What if they don't play queen's gambit line after queens pawn opening

[@Alexandergea-lk9gg]

❤️ from Indonesia

[@raajeshchess]

Igor can you tell how to counter the same opening as i play on one side say as white then how to counter it with black please reply