The Bogo-Indian Defence is a

chess opening The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...

characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nf3 Bb4+ The position after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 is common. The traditional move for White here is 3.Nc3, threatening to set up a big pawn centre with 4.e4. However, 3.Nf3 is often played instead as a way of avoiding the Nimzo-Indian Defence (which would follow after 3.Nc3 Bb4). After 3.Nf3, Black usually plays 3...b6 (the

Queen's Indian Defence The Queen's Indian Defense (QID) is a chess opening defined by the moves: : 1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4, d4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6, Nf6 : 2. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4, c4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c ...

) or 3...d5 (transposing to the Queen's Gambit Declined), but can instead play 3...Bb4+, the Bogo-Indian Defence. Databases suggest that the Bogo-Indian is played approximately half as often as the Queen's Indian. The Bogo-Indian Defence can also arise via the move order 1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+, the Keres Defence. The Bogo-Indian is classified as E11 by the ''

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' (''ECO'') is a reference work describing the state of Chess theory#Opening theory, opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugos ...

'' (ECO).

History

The Bogo-Indian Defence is named after the Russian-born German master Efim Bogoljubow who is believed to have originated the opening and played it regularly in the 1920s. Subsequent prominent players to have adopted the Bogo-Indian include

Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch (; , ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimzowitsch was one of the best chess players in the world. He was the foremost f ...

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

, Tigran Petrosian, Bent Larsen, Vasily Smyslov,

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (, ; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Bor ...

, Ulf Andersson, Michael Adams and Nikita Vitiugov.

Variations

White has three viable moves to meet the check. 4.Nc3 is a transposition to the Kasparov Variation of the Nimzo-Indian, therefore the main independent variations are 4.Bd2 and 4.Nbd2.

4.Bd2

4.Bd2 is the most common line; the bishop on b4 is now threatened and Black must decide how to meet this threat. *4...Qe7 is now the most frequently played option. After 5. g3 Nc6, the main line continues 6. Nc3 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 Ne4 8. Rc1 0-0 9. Bg2 d6 10. d5 Nd8 11. dxe6 Nxe6 and the position is equal (see diagram). An alternative line is 6. Bg2 Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 d6 8. 0-0 a5 9. e4 e5 10. d5 Nb8 11. Ne1 0-0 12. Nd3 Na6 and the position is again equal. * David Bronstein tried the sharper alternative 4...a5, grabbing space on the queenside at the cost of structural weaknesses. *The simplest is to trade off the bishop by means of 4...Bxd2+; this line is not particularly popular, but has been played frequently by the Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson, often as a drawing line.Pedersen mentions Andersson's utilization of this line, noting he draws a large majority of the time, howeve
Checkpoint
Chesscafe.com, see Hansen's review of the Bogo-Indian CD, which notes that this is not always an attempt to merely draw. *A more modern line is 4...c5, after 5.Bxb4 cxb4, Black's pawns are doubled, and a pawn has been pulled away from the centre, but the b4 pawn can also be annoying for White since it takes the c3-square away from the knight. In fact, one of White's major alternatives is 6.a3, trading off this pawn at once. *Simply retreating the bishop by means of 4...Be7 is also possible; Black benefits from losing a tempo since White's dark-square bishop is misplaced at d2. The line is somewhat passive, but solid.

4.Nbd2

4.Nbd2 is an alternative aiming to acquire the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

for the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

or forcing Black's bishop to retreat. The downside is that the knight is developed to a square where it blocks the bishop, and d2 is a less active square than c3. The line is described in the ''Gambit Guide'' as "ambitious". Black's most common replies are 4...b6, 4...0-0, and 4...d5.

Monticelli Trap

This opening can sometimes give rise to the Monticelli Trap.

Notes

References

* Dejan Antić & Branimir Maksimovic (2014), ''The Modern Bogo'', New in Chess, ISBN 978-90-5691-495-0 * Irina Bulmaga (2021), ''The Active Bogo-Indian Defense'', Chessable.com. *