Queen's indian variation

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Avatar of TheYoungElite

Hi! this isn't a full game, but rather an opening I like to use. (hopefully this is allowed lol) I'm looking for some feedback to improve on this, but also to share it to others who want to find new ways to fight against d4

So this opening is a combination of nimzo indian (when played against queen's gambit) and queen's indian. It goes (generally, but moves can be played in different orders) like this:

 

This is a example way of playing it, but white can play different moves (including queen's gambit) and this opening still works.

I came up with these moves after getting annoyed with how hard it was to develop my white squared bishop after playing the nimzo Indian. I then tried out fianchettoing it, and it worked amazingly. But I was still never able to fully counter white's strong center, especially once e4 was played. And then there was the issue of the b8 knight blocking the bishop when it arrived on c6. Then I tried playing a version of the Benoni (with a fianchetto) so I could use my c5 pawn to fight against the d4 pawn. Finally, I arrived to this opening: I takes the fianchetto and the c5 attack into one opening.

There's a lot I haven't said about my experiences about it, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Thanks for any feedback!

Avatar of ChimpCh

I feel I'm not qualified enough to comment about the solidity of the opening, but it looks like a great setup against white's standard queen's pawn. Three of your minor pieces, both knights and light squared bishop, work together really well, and the only somewhat critique I could give is the fact that your dark squared bishop doesn't seem the happiest. A suggestion could be d5 instead of d6, but this blocks your fianchetto'd light squared bishop. Moreover, it doesn't allow you to play e5, which helps you occupy as much central control as possible; compromising on that, especially if it is difficult to fully counter it, sounds unwise. But that's the only flaw I could find.

All in all, this was a really cool find, and a helpful one too. The setup allows all kinds of play, with the c file open for the rook, and e4 a possible threat. And clearly, from your impressive wins, it has been met with success. Thanks for sharing this @TheYoungElite, I'll definitely try it out!

Also, if anyone wants to provide feedback to what I say, please feel free. I'd appreciate the advice.

Avatar of TheYoungElite

Thanks! One way to free the bishop (only when queen's gambit is played sadly) is Bb4 (the nimzo part of this opening), though i'm still looking for a place to put it in just a normal queen's pawn opening. And I have definitely thought about d5 but decided not to keep it in the opening; analysis dislikes d6 intensely and prefers d5, probably because once c5 is played, the d6 pawn is attacked by white's dark squared bishop and is quite weak. I personally prefer keeping the white bishop's diagonal as empty as possible so it points directly at white's castled king, but this is not the best for center control. 
One point I forgot to mention was that the c5 pawn is rarely taken, so this opening generally leads to a closed position. After a few moves, you do have to figure out a way to either push your pawns to e5/d5 or stop white from doing so (specially making sure that white does not get a pawn to e5, because once your knight on f6 is kicked away, h6 is left vulnerable).

Avatar of borovicka75

This setup (pa6,b6, d6,e6,f7,g7,h7, Nd7, Nf6,Bb7,Be7 is called Hedgehog structure. It’s very solid defensive structure. Usually you are not supposed to play e6-e5 without serious reason because you weaken the d5 square. The Hedgehog structure is very solid but you have to be very patient to wait for some active possibilities like d6-d5 or b6-b5.

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