Nimzo-Indian Defence - Classical Variation (or Capablanca Variation) 4.Qc2

Classical Variation (or Capablanca Variation) 4.Qc2

The Classical or Capablanca Variation was popular in the early days of the Nimzo-Indian, and though eventually superseded by 4.e3 it was revived in the 1990s; it is now just as popular as the Rubinstein. White aims to acquire the two bishops without compromising his pawn structure. The drawback is that the queen will move at least twice within the opening moves and that White's kingside development is delayed. Thus, even though White possesses the bishop pair, it is usually advisable for Black to open the game quickly to exploit his lead in development. Black has four common replies to 4.Qc2. These include 4...0-0, 4...c5, 4...d5, and 4...Nc6 (4...d6 intending ...Nbd7 and ...e5 is a rarer fifth option).

• 4...0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 is nowadays the main line of the Classical Variation (although 6...b5!? is an interesting gambit invented by Alvis Vitolinš). Black's usual choice is 7...Bb7, but 7...Ba6 is also possible to target the c-pawn, and 7...h6 8.Bh4 c5 and 7...c5 are sometimes played as well. After 7...Bb7, White's most straightforward move is 8.f3 preparing e4, but Black can counter with 8...h6 9.Bh4 d5, when the pawn grab 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Qxc7 Ba6 is very dangerous for White because of Black's better development. Therefore, White has sometimes tried 8.e3 instead, when after 8...h6 9.Bh4 d5?! 10.cxd5 exd5? 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Qxc7 Ba6 White has 13.Bxa6 Nxa6 14.Qb7. Thus Black should prefer 8.e3 d6, planning ...Nbd7 and ...c5.
  Both players can deviate from the main line. Instead of 7.Bg5, White can play 7.Nf3 Bb7 8.e3, intending to develop the dark-squared bishop to b2. Another possibility is 4.Qc2 0-0 5.e4, although this is somewhat inconsistent with 4.Qc2 as Black might be able to double White's c-pawns at some point (the queen must guard e4), something 4.Qc2 was supposed to prevent. After 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3, Black can also try 6...Ne4 7.Qc2 f5, which is similar to the Dutch Variation (see 4.e3 b6), but without the doubled pawns for White.

• 4...c5 exploits the fact that on c2, the queen no longer defends the d-pawn. If White defends the pawn, then Black gets an easy game by keeping the pressure on d4, so White almost always plays 5.dxc5. Black can choose to recapture on c5 with the bishop (e.g. 5...Bxc5 or 5...0-0 6.a3 Bxc5), or with the knight (after 5...Na6 or 5...0-0 6.Nf3 Na6). In the former case, the bishop will eventually retreat to e7 and Black will set up a Hedgehog formation (pawns on a6, b6, d6 and e6). If Black recaptures with the knight, he will often have to give up the bishop pair at some point with ...Bxc3, but the knight is useful on c5 and can later go to e4, attacking the queen on c3. 4...c5 5.dxc5 0-0 (the Pirc Variation) was one of the reasons why 4.Qc2 was not popular during the mid-20th century, because the lines where Black eventually recaptures with the knight was reckoned to give Black easy equality, while the line which prevented this maneuver, 6.a3 Bxc5 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Bg5 Nd4 9.Nxd4 Bxd4 10.e3 Qa5 11.exd4 Qxg5, left the Black queen active, while White still needs to secure the king. It was the discovery of 12.Qd2! which revived this line for White, because the endgame after 12...Qxd2+ 13.Kxd2 offers White a slight edge. Indeed, Edmar Mednis's remark was that the entire Pirc Variation had become unplayable at the highest level, while Modern Chess Openings (MCO) cites this variation as the main problem with 4...c5. However, players like Kramnik have been willing to defend the Black side of this line against players like Kasparov.

• 4...d5 is another move that strikes immediately in the centre, and was a favourite of Mikhail Botvinnik. After 5.cxd5, Black can either recapture with the queen or pawn. 5...Qxd5 is the Romanishin System: the idea is that after 6.Nf3 Qf5 7.Qxf5 exf5, Black strengthens his grip on e4 and makes e6 available for the bishop, which is enough for him to obtain equality. White can avoid this with 6.e3 so that 6...Qf5 can be met with 7.Bd3, but the e3-pawn blocks in White's c1-bishop. The older alternative is 5...exd5 6.Bg5 h6, which tends to be a rather sharp line. After 4...d5, White can also play 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2, when Black may play 7...c5 or 7...Nc6 intending ...e5. Even though White possesses the pair of bishops, Black still strives for a quick opening of the position to exploit his lead in development. The usual result of this is a dynamically balanced position.

• 4...Nc6 is the Zürich or Milner-Barry Variation (named after British chess player Stuart Milner-Barry). Black gives up the dark-squared bishop, but places his central pawns on d6 and e5 so that his remaining bishop is unimpeded. To avoid moving his queen, White will play Bd2 at some point so that when Black takes the knight, White can recapture with the bishop. 4...Nc6 is out of fashion because most players prefer to avoid blocking their c-pawn. A topical line would go 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 Nc6 5.Nf3 (better than 5.e3) d6, with the idea of playing e5. Black often prepares this with castling and ...Re8 or by playing Qe7. After Black plays ...e5, White usually responds with d5. Black is willing to lose a tempo moving the Knight back to b8 (or e7, which is often better) because the position is closed. White usually plays on the Queenside in this variation, while Black will try to play on the Kingside with ...f5 and possibly transferring the c6 Knight over to the Kingside after White's d5. Today, the line arises quite often by transposition from the Black Knights Tango, e.g. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qc2.