The Queen's Knight Defense (also known as the Nimzowitsch Queen Pawn Defence, Bogoljubov– Mikenas Defense or

Lundin Lundin is a Swedish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf H. Lundin (1932–2006), Swedish oil and mining entrepreneur * Albin Lundin (born 1996), Swedish ice hockey player * Alexander Lundin (born 1992), Swedish footbalplayer ...

Defense) is a

chess opening A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defens ...

defined by the moves: :1. d4 Nc6 Unless the game transposes to another opening, the ''

Encyclopedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' () 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 Serbian company Šahovski Informator (Che ...

'' code for the Queen's Knight Defense is A40.

Discussion

This opening was tried by some hypermodern players such as

Aron Nimzowitsch Aron Nimzowitsch ( lv, Ārons Nimcovičs, russian: Аро́н Иса́евич Нимцо́вич, ''Aron Isayevich Nimtsovich''; 7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935) was a Latvian-born Danish chess player and writer. In the late 1920s, Nimz ...

and

Efim Bogoljubov Efim Bogoljubow ( or ), also known as Ewfim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow, ( (); also Romanized ''Bogoljubov'', ''Bogolyubov''; uk, Юхим Дмитрович Боголюбов, Yukhym Dmytrovych Boholiubov; April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952) ...

, but it has never become very popular. The move 1...Nc6 is a fairly committal move which blocks Black's c-pawn; usually Black delays playing it until White's setup is clear. Most games featuring 1.d4 Nc6 transpose to another opening. After 2.e4 the Nimzowitsch Defense arises. After 2.Nf3 d5 a variation of the

Queen's Pawn Game Queen's Pawn Game broadly refers to any chess opening starting with the move 1.d4, which is the second most popular opening move after 1.e4 ( King's Pawn Game). Terminology The term "Queen's Pawn Game" is usually used to describe openings begi ...

is possible. After 2.c4 d5 the opening is a

Chigorin Defense The Chigorin Defense is a chess opening named for 19th-century Russian master Mikhail Chigorin. An uncommonly played defense to the Queen's Gambit, it begins with the following moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 Nc6 The Chigorin Defense violates severa ...

. There are some lines which are unique to 1.d4 Nc6, most importantly 2.d5 which chases the knight away, usually to e5. The opening resembles an

Alekhine's Defence The Alekhine's Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 Nf6 Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad , with plans to undermine and attack the white structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's i ...

but on the opposite side of the board. In an

opening book A chess opening book is a book on chess openings. This is by far the most common type of literature on chess. These books describe many major lines, like the Sicilian Defence, Ruy Lopez, and Queen's Gambit, as well many minor variations of the ma ...

by Sid Pickard, this variation was called the Bozo–Indian Defense – "Bozo" being a combination of the prefixes "Nimzo" and "Bogo". The Queen's Knight Defense was featured (although not mentioned by name) in the season four episode of ''Chuck'' entitled " Chuck Versus the Family Volkoff".

Variations

* 2.d5 Nb8 (Montevideo Retreat) * 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Nd4 ( Cannstatter Variation) * 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Nce7 (

Lithuanian Variation Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other J ...

) * 2.d5 Ne5 3.e4 e6 4.f4 exd5 5.fxe5 Qh4+ ( Full Metal Jacket Variation) * 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Nxe5 4.Nc3 Nxc4 ( Pozarek Gambit)

Transpositions

After 1. d4 Nc6 Black should be ready for various variations. However, White cannot just ignore the fact that his opponent is ready to play e5 in the next move. Therefore, pratically speaking, white is more likely to limit himself to the move 2. Nf3 trying to reach a position where he has the theory advantage. Black could respond to Nf3 with 2 main moves: I - 2. Nf3 d6 can transpose to the

Pirc defense The Pirc Defence (pronounced ) is a chess opening characterised by the response of Black to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish a with pawns on d4 and e4. It is named after the Slovenia ...

( if black successfully play the move d6 and g6. White must play e4 and go into open games theory ) or the

King's Indian Defence The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It is defined by the following moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6 (the Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is cons ...

if White plays the early c4 and go into the closed games theory. II - 2. Nf3 e6 can transpose to the

Nimzo-Indian Defence The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 e6 :3. Nc3 Bb4 Other move orders, such as 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 Bb4, are also feasible. In the ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'', the Nimzo-Indian ...

, Bogo-Indian Defence and the

if white plays c4 immediately. If white tries going for an open game, the game can transpose to a Guimard French or some individual French Defense with 4. ... e5 or the

Nimzowitsch Defence The Nimzowitsch Defence (named after Aron Nimzowitsch) is a somewhat unusual chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 Nc6 This opening is an example of a hypermodern opening in which Black invites White to occupy the of the board a ...

. III - Unusual Sequences:

Dutch Defence The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 f5 Black's 1...f5 stakes a claim to the e4-square and envisions an attack in the middlegame on White's ; however, it also weakens Black's kingside to an extent (especia ...

- 1.d4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 f5 6.d5

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. It is one o ...

- 1.d4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d6 3.e4 e5 4.Bb5 exd4 5.Qxd4

Illustrative games

Erich Weinitschke Erich Weinitschke, born 10 March 1910, was a German chess master. Weinitschke was born in Dzierżoniów in Silesia in March 1910, 1910. He took 10th at Bad Elster 1938 (Efim Bogoljubow won), took 4th at Bad Warmbrunn (now Cieplice Śląskie–Zdr� ...

vs.

, Bad Elster (Germany) 1938: Analysis by Sid Pickard: ''"An splendid example of dynamism concealed in Black opening:''
1. d4 Nc6 2. d5 Ne5 3. f4 Ng6 4. e4 e5 (this position more commonly occurs from the Nimzowitsch Defense by 1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 e5 3.d5 Nce7 4.f4 Ng6) 5. f5 '''(more cautious would be 5. dxe6, though after fxe6 Black has the open f-file as a base for counter-attack)''' Qh4+ 6. Kd2 Qxe4 7. fxg6 Qxd5+ 8. Ke1 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 hxg6 10. Nc3 c6 11. Nf3 f6 12. Bd3 '''(storing up trouble. White's minor pieces become potentially exposed to Black's advancing pawns. In order to make a game of it White had to play 12.Be2)''' Ne7 13. Re1 d5 '''(Black's opening sacrifice has been a complete success. He controls the center and his three pawns outweighs White's extrapiece, but this is a somewhat forlorn gesture.)''' 14. h3 e4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Nxe4 Kf7 17. Bd2 Nf5 18. b3 g5 19. Ke2 Nd6 20. Nf2 Bf5 21. Nd4 Bg6 22. Kf1 Nf5 23. Ne2 Bc5 24. Ne4 Bb6 '''(Black's task is easy. He has an extra pawn, two bishops and better development)''' 25. c4 Rad8 26. Red1 Rxd2 27. Nxd2 Ne3+ '''(White resigned in the favor of 28. Ke1 Nxg2+ 29. Kf1 Ne3+ 30. Ke1 Rxh3)'"''

Notes

References

* * * {{cite book , author= Sid Pickard , year=2001 , title=The Bozo-Indian Defense , publisher=ChessCentral , url-access=registration , url=https://www.chesscentral.com/the-bozo-indian-defense-chess-opening-e-book-download/ Chess openings