Nimzo-Larsen Attack: free opening course

Key ideas

• The b2 bishop is your best piece. It hits the e5 pawn and looks all the way to g7 and h8.
• Against 1...e5 and ...Nc6, pin the c6 knight with the bishop to b5. Giving it up for the knight leaves e5 without a guard.
• When Black's e-pawn leaves e5 or takes on f4, check whether the b2 bishop can take on g7.
• Push the f-pawn to f4 to fight for e5. It also opens the f-file for the rook.
• Against ...d5 set-ups, play calmly with e3, Nf3, Be2 and castling. Then strike with a pawn to c4 or d4.

The 6 variations in the course

• 1...e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 d5 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.f4: 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d5 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. f4 f6 6. Qh5+ g6 … — Black builds a big centre and guards e5 with the bishop. White pins the c6 knight and hits e5 with the f-pawn. Black must defend with ...f6, because taking on f4 or pushing the e-pawn opens the long diagonal to g7.
• 1...e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 d6: 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 d6 5. Ne2 Bd7 6. O-O Be7 … — Black develops the knight first and then guards e5 with ...d6. White develops the knight to e2, castles and opens the centre with the d-pawn. White gets the queen on d4 and the bishop on the long diagonal.
• 1...d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 e6: 1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O c5 … — Black plays a solid Queen's Gambit set-up. White develops calmly, castles and strikes with c4 and d4. White gets an active position with good pieces.
• 1...d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 Bf5: 1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. e3 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. c4 Be7 6. Be2 h6 … — Black develops the light bishop before ...e6, like a London System with colours reversed. White develops, castles and plays c4 and d4. Then the bishop goes to d3 to trade off Black's good bishop.
• 1...Nf6 2.Bb2 g6: 1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. c4 c5 6. Be2 d5 … — Black puts a bishop on g7 to fight the b2 bishop. White develops, plays c4 and keeps the game flexible. After the centre opens, White's bishop on b5 hits the c6 knight.
• 1...c5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 g6: 1. b3 c5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bb5 Bg7 6. O-O O-O … — Black plays an English Opening set-up. White develops, pins the c6 knight with the bishop and castles. When Black opens the centre, White gets a strong pawn on d5.

Traps you will learn (3)

• 5...exf4? 6.Bxg7 — After 5.f4 Black often takes the pawn. But this opens the long diagonal, and the b2 bishop takes g7 and then the h8 rook. White must answer the queen check with 7.Kf1.
• 5...e4? 6.Bxg7 — Black pushes past the f4 pawn to keep the centre closed. But the e5 pawn was the wall in front of g7. The b2 bishop takes g7 and wins the h8 rook.
• 2...Bc5? 3.Bxe5 — Black develops the bishop and forgets that the b2 bishop hits e5. White simply takes the pawn. The bishop on e5 also hits c7 and g7.

How the opening courses work

Each course teaches an opening in a few main variations. For every move you read why it is played, which other moves are good, and which tempting moves are mistakes and why. Each course also shows the traps of the opening: the ones you can set and the ones to avoid.

After a lesson you play the moves yourself in a drill. The lines you learn go into your review, which brings them back when you are about to forget them (spaced repetition). 30 line courses add many short lines per opening, a few new ones a day, and every named opening, more than 3,800 lines, has a lesson of its own.