Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...Nf6/2. c4/2...e6/3. Nf3/3...b6/4. g3

Queen's Pawn Opening
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black kingh8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black kingc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black pawnc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black pawnf6 black knightg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 white pawnd4 white pawne4 black kingf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 white pawnh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 black kingd2 black kinge2 white pawnf2 white pawng2 black kingh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)
Moves: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3

Queen's Indian Defense

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4. g3

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With this move, White decides to challenge the h1-a8 diagonal immediately and fianchetto his own light-squared bishop to counter black's.

Black can now play:

  • 4...Bb7 (Old Main Line), a standard developing move. White can then respond with Bg2 and Nc3. The line continues: 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. Qxc3. White now has a spacial advantage, but black's position is solid. Black can choose many ways for counterplay, including 9...c5 (the most common), 9...f5, or 9...Be4. These lines are known for their drawish tendencies and are currently used as drawing weapons. However, there have been developed a few ways to unbalance the play in the Old Main Line:
    • 6. Nc3, which postpones castling for the e2-e4 and d4-d5 thrusts.
    • 7. d5!?, which gives up a pawn. However, white can play 8. Nh4, threatening to regain the pawn or play Nf5. If black keeps the pawn, white gets plenty of compensation for it.
    • 8. Bd2, which defends the knight on c3 and threatens a d4-d5 push.

That was, until, the Modern Main Line came by:

  • 4...Ba6, attacking the c-pawn. This is a bit of a nuisance for white, who cannot comfortably defend the pawn with the natural e2-e3 because the bishop is already committed to g2.

Also possible is:

  • 4...Bb4+, echoing the Bogo-Indian and Nimzo-Indian defences. White can interpose with the bishop or knight. However, this leaves black with a slightly passive position. Nevertheless, this is solid as well.

There are other options available, though these are less likely to be encountered:

  • 4...c5, immediately challenging the (central) d-pawn. This leads to pawn structures specific to the Benoni or to variations with a late c5 of the Queen's Indian, if both sides choose to neglect this central challenge and continue to develop
  • 4...c6, leads to a Closed Catalan variation after Black's immediate 5...d5 follow-up

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3

4
Bb7
...
=
Ba6
...
=
Bb4+
...
=

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References

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