A modern Nimzo-Indian

by ChessBase
7/20/2026 – In the latest issue of ChessBase Magazine #233, Andrei Volokitin presents ‘his’ Nimzo-Indian. In the variation 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5, White continues their development with 9.Ne2 or 9.Nf3. Volokitin, who once ranked among the world’s top 20 with an Elo rating of over 2700, presents his repertoire recommendations for Black against both continuations. "According to my analysis, Black has a comfortable game and can play not only for a draw, but ultimately even for victory if White makes routine moves." Volokitin’s contribution consists of an overview text and four annotated sample games, three of which the Ukrainian GM played himself with Black. In the new free CBM sample, you can view the full article with all the analyses directly in your web browser.
“Mate is great!” – Tactical training with Oliver Reeh, “The 8th rank” – Andy Woodward analyses his game against Magnus Carlsen from TePe Sigeman 2026, “A modern Nimzo-Indian” – Andrei Volokitin introduces readers to "his" system and much more!
ChessBase Magazine offers top-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their finest games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you exactly the tricks and techniques you need to become a successful tournament player! Available as a download (including the magazine as a PDF file).
Included: CBM #232 as a “ChessBase Book” for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.! At books.chessbase.com

 

"A modern Nimzo-Indian" - free sample from ChessBase Magazine #232

After 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 Andrei Volokitin takes Black

Clicking on the image takes you to the preview on books.chessbase.com

"Recently, there has been a attempt for White to fight for an advantage in the Nimzo-Indian Defence: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3. The logical 6...Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5

leads to our starting position. White has obtained the bishop pair, and must choose how to develop their king's knight, i.e. 9.Nf3 or 9.Ne2. This survey serves as a ready-to-use playbook for Black on how to react to both these continuations."

Clicking on the image takes you to the preview on books.chessbase.com

"According to my analysis, Black has a comfortable game and can play not only for a draw, but ultimately even for victory if White makes routine moves."

The complete training programme from ChessBase Magazine #232 at a glance:

Clicking on the image loads a short preview from the included PDF file.

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Video

60m The Two Knights

This entry into the 60 minutes series concentrates on the Modern variation of the Italian game where White opens the centre early : 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5!. This line can be reached by various move orders, most frequently from the Scotch 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4. It's a sharp variation and Grandmasters such as Evgeny Sveshnikov have used it frequently,with very good results. It's a perfect line for club players to adopt which is relatively easy to learn and which contains many traps. All the main responses are covered here, including 5...d5, 5...Ng4 and 5...Ne4 and the conclusion is that is is difficult for Black to equalize in a straightforward way. Problems are being posed, which over the board might prove tough to solve.