Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2
Classical Variation
1.2.3.4.
What Is The Classical Variation?
4.Qc2 answers the pin at the source. White defends c3 in advance, so that after ...Bxc3 the queen recaptures and not the b pawn. That keeps White's pawn structure clean and hands White the bishop pair, which is the entire purpose of the Classical Variation. The price is time: the queen moves before a single minor piece, and Black hits her with ...Bf5, or with ...Ne4 once she sits on c3.
Black spends that time on the centre. 4...d5 and 4...c5 strike at once, and 4...Nc6 presses d4 and prepares ...e5. Do not treat the two bishops as an advantage you already own: they pay only after the position opens. Games turn on whether White completes development before Black's central break arrives.
What Do Players Choose At The Decision Point?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nf3 | 17% | 297 | |
| e3 | 16% | 277 | |
| Qc2 | 16% | 272 | |
| Bg5 | 15% | 258 |
How Does Play Continue From Here?
| Move | Share | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|
| O-O | 27% | 74 | |
| d5 | 19% | 53 | |
| c5 | 19% | 53 | |
| b6 | 13% | 34 |
The Named Lines Of The Classical Variation
| Line | Moves |
|---|---|
| Noa Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 |
| Berlin Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.e3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 |
| Zurich Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 Nc6 |
| Milner-Barry Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 |
| Berlin Variation, Pirc Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O |
| Berlin Variation, Steiner Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 Bxc3+ |
| Romanishin Gambit | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 c5 |
| Keres Defense | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 |
| Vitolins-Adorjan Gambit | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b5 |
| Noa Variation, Botvinnik Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Nc6 |
| Noa Variation, Main Line | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 |
| Berlin Variation, Macieja System | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.a3 Bxc5 7.Nf3 b6 |
| Belyavsky Gambit | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nf3 Qf5 7.Qd1 e5 |
| Modern Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 c5 |
| Noa Variation, San Remo Variation | 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 Nc6 8.e3 e5 |