Indian Defence


In the game of chess, Indian Defence or Indian Game is a broad term for a group of openings characterised by the moves:
They are all to varying degrees hypermodern defences, where Black invites White to establish an imposing presence in the with the plan of undermining and ultimately destroying it.
Although the Indian defences were championed in the 1920s by players in the hypermodern school, they were not fully accepted until Russian players showed in the late 1940s that these systems are sound for Black. Since then, the Indian defences have become a popular way for Black to respond to 1.d4 because they often offer a balanced game with winning chances for both sides. Transpositions are important and many variations can be reached by several. It is also possible to transpose back into classical openings such as the Queen's Gambit and the Slav Defence; these are not considered "Indian" openings.
The usual White second move is 2.c4, grabbing a larger share of the centre and allowing the move Nc3, to prepare for moving the e-pawn to e4 without blocking the c-pawn with the knight. Black's most popular replies are
but other moves are played as detailed below.
Instead of 2.c4, White often plays 2.Nf3. Then Black may play 2...d5 which may transpose to a Queen's Gambit after 3.c4. Or Black may play 2...e6 which retains possibilities of transposing to a Queen's Gambit or Queen's Indian Defence. Alternatively, 2...g6 may transpose to a King's Indian Defence or Grünfeld Defence, while 2...c5 invites transposition to a Benoni. White can deny Black any of these transpositions by refraining from c2–c4 over the next several moves.
On the second move, White can also play 2.Bg5, the Trompowsky Attack. Black can respond 2...Ne4, or 2...e6, among other moves. A third alternative for White is 2.Bf4, the London System. Another alternative is 2.Nc3. Then Black may play 2...d5, after which 3.Bg5 is the Richter–Veresov Attack ; 3.Bf4 is the Rapport–Jobava System. Black may also play 2...g6.

History

The earliest known use of the term "Indian Defence" was in 1884, and the name was attributed to the openings used by the Indian player Moheschunder Bannerjee against John Cochrane. Philip W. Sergeant describes Moheschunder as having been as of 1848 "a Brahman in the Mofussil—up country, as we might say—who had never been beaten at chess!" Sergeant wrote in 1934 :
The Indian Defences by g6 coupled with d6, or b6 coupled with e6, were largely taught to European players by the example of Moheschunder and other Indians, to whom the fianchetto developments were a natural legacy from their own game. The fondness for them of the present Indian champion of British chess, Mir Sultan Khan, is well known. But they are now so widely popular that Dr. S. G. Tartakover was able to declare, some years ago, that "to-day fianchettos are trumps." A sequel hardly to have been anticipated from the discovery of Moheschunder in the Mofussil!

In the following game, Moheschunder plays the Grünfeld Defence against Cochrane in 1855—some 38 years before Ernst Grünfeld was born.
Another of the games between these players transposed to what would today be called the Four Pawns Attack against the King's Indian Defence. This time Moheschunder, as Black, won after some enterprising sacrificial play:
The term "Indian Defence" was popularised by Savielly Tartakower in the early 1920s. In his 1924 book Die hypermoderne Schachpartie, Tartakower classifies the Indian Defences under the broad headings "Old Indian" and "Neo-Indian". Under the heading "Old Indian", he considers the openings now known as the King's Indian and Grünfeld Defences. He also proposes the names "Proto-Indian" for 1.d4 d6, "Pseudo-Indian" for 1.d4 c5, "Semi-Indian" for 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3, and "Three Quarter Indian" for 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nd2, none of which came into wider use.
The modern names "King's Indian Defence", "Queen's Indian Defence", "Old Indian Defence", and "King's Indian Attack" were attributed by Richard Reti to Hans Kmoch, though Réti himself did not approve of these terms. Réti also attributed to Kmoch the terms "All Indian Defence" and "Queen's Indian Attack" but these did not come into general use.

Main line: 2.c4 e6

Nimzo-Indian Defence: 3.Nc3 Bb4

Advocated by Nimzowitsch as early as 1913, the Nimzo-Indian Defence was the first of the Indian systems to gain full acceptance. It remains one of the most popular and well-respected defences to 1.d4, and White often chooses move orders designed to avoid it. Black attacks the centre with pieces and is prepared to trade a bishop for a knight to weaken White's queenside with doubled pawns.

Queen's Indian Defence: 3.Nf3 b6

The Queen's Indian Defence is considered solid, safe, and perhaps somewhat drawish. Black often chooses the Queen's Indian when White avoids the Nimzo-Indian by playing 3.Nf3 instead of 3.Nc3. Black constructs a sound position that makes no positional concessions, although sometimes it is difficult for Black to obtain good winning chances. Karpov is a leading expert in this opening. Many Queen's Indian Defence players also play the Nimzo-Indian Defence, and in fact the line 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 is sometimes called the "Nimzo/Queen's Indian Hybrid" or similar, and could be classified under either opening.

Bogo-Indian Defence: 3.Nf3 Bb4+

The Bogo-Indian Defence is a solid alternative to the Queen's Indian, into which it sometimes transposes. It is less popular than that opening, however, perhaps because many players are loath to surrender the , as Black often ends up doing after 4.Nbd2. The classical 4.Bd2 Qe7 is also often seen, although more recently 4...a5!? and even 4...c5!? have emerged as alternatives. Transposition to the Nimzo-Indian with 4.Nc3 is perfectly playable but rarely seen, since most players who play 3.Nf3 do so in order to avoid that opening.

Blumenfeld Countergambit: 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5

The Blumenfeld Countergambit bears a superficial but misleading resemblance to the [|Benko Gambit], as Black's goals are very different. Black gambits a wing pawn in an attempt to build a strong centre. White can either accept the gambit or decline it to maintain a small positional advantage. Although the Blumenfeld offers dynamic play for Black, it is not very popular due to its riskiness.

Catalan Opening: 3.g3

The Catalan Opening features a quick fianchetto of White's. It most often continues 3...d5 4.Bg2. White also often reaches it via transposition with 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3.

Neo-Indian Attack: 3.Bg5

The Neo-Indian Attack is also known as the Seirawan Attack, after top 1980s player Yasser Seirawan. The pinning of the f6-knight looks similar to the Torre Attack, but while the Torre is fairly common, the Neo-Indian is rarely played. The move order has been used by players such as David Janowski against Edward Lasker in New York City 1922. The opening has been considered a possible opening surprise in the Secrets of Opening Surprises series.
The most common responses from Black are:
  • 3...h6 which the bishop to move again, and unlike the Trompowsky Attack, 4.Bxf6 will not leave Black with doubled pawns.
  • 3...Bb4+ which can transpose to the Leningrad Variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defense after 4.Nc3, or lead to unique variations after 4.Nd2.
  • 3...c5 4.d5
  • 3...Be7
Unless the game transposes to another variation, the Neo-Indian is classified as E00 by the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.

Other lines

  • 3...d5 transposes to the Queen's Gambit Declined, or to the Catalan if White plays 3.g3.
  • 3...c5 4.d5 exd5 transposes to the Modern Benoni.
  • 3...Nc6 transposes to the Black Knights' Tango.
  • 3.Nf3 a6 prepares for...b5. It has been played by Roman Dzindzichashvili.
  • 3.Nf3 Ne4 transposes to the Döry Defence.
  • 3.a3 prevents Black from playing both the Nimzo-Indian and Bogo-Indian. It has been played by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
  • 3.g4 is the Devin Gambit.

    Kingside fianchetto line: 2.c4 g6

Grünfeld Defence: 3.Nc3 d5

debuted the Grünfeld Defence in 1922. Distinguished by the move 3...d5, Grünfeld intended it as an improvement to the King's Indian which was not considered entirely satisfactory at that time. The Grünfeld has been adopted by World Champions Smyslov, Fischer, and Kasparov.

King's Indian Defence: 3.Nc3 Bg7

The King's Indian Defence is aggressive and somewhat risky, and generally indicates that Black will not be satisfied with a draw. Although it was played occasionally as early as the late 19th century, the King's Indian was considered inferior until the 1940s when it was featured in the games of Bronstein, Boleslavsky, and Reshevsky. It was Fischer's favoured defence to 1.d4, but its popularity faded in the mid-1970s. Kasparov's successes with the defence restored the King's Indian to prominence in the 1980s.

Other lines

Often with the goal of avoiding the Grünfeld, White may decline to play 3.Nc3. The most common are 3.g3 and 3.Nf3, followed by 3.f3, which appeared in the quarterfinals of the Chess World Cup 2025. 3.h4 and 3.d5 are also seen.