The Stories of Openings - The Bogo-Indian

Introduction

Welcome to the second post in the "The Stories of Openings" series. In the first post, we tackled the Catalan, with more focus on White's perspective. This time, our story keeps us in the realm of the same first moves, but takes us in another direction after move 3. We will watch this from Black's perspective this time.

As in the previous post, this post will be written in a more playful manner and is mostly aimed at beginners, though I believe even some of you who are more experienced might still benefit from reading it. Perhaps it'll be a story you've never heard.

Let's get to it!

The Bogo - Indian Defense

The Bogo-Indian Defense (Bogo-Indian or simply Bogo from now on) is defined by the sequence 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+! and has a very solid reputation for Black. Its theoretical strength is not considered the best at very high levels, though it is a guest that does tend to show up here and there. What is the point of it? What are the ideas behind the cheeky check on move 3? And how should White react?

White plays 1.d4

So far so good - this is the same first move we saw when we talked about the Catalan.

Black plays 1...Nf6

Wait, what? What is this? Why isn't Black controlling the center with 1...d5?

It is true that this move does not place a pawn in the center. However, it does control the very important e4 square with the knight. So overall, it is not such a bad move - it stops White from going e4, and develops a piece. Maybe Black will go d5 on the next move and everything will be the same again.

White plays 2.c4

Oh bummer! White has controlled d5 with a pawn - now 2...d5 would be a pretty horrible move (the so-called Marshall Defence) because it would allow White to take on d5 and getting two central pawns versus one! Black cannot allow this, so they need to support d5 with a pawn somehow. In this story, they'll do so with 2...e6. We talked about the downsides and upsides of 2...e6/2...c6 in the first story.

Black plays 2...e6

White plays 3.Nf3

It almost seems like we're still talking about the Catalan! After all, Black can go 3...d5 here and transpose immediately to what we checked in the past. However, by starting with 1...Nf6, Black kept more options on the board, and now it is the moment when a strategy enabled by those options shines.

Black plays 3...Bb4+

Finally, the move that defines the Bogo! It is a good spot to take a moment and talk about what are Black's ideas behind this move. As talked about in the Catalan's story, Black's main problem in the Queen's Gambit Declined variations (which would arise after 3...d5 instead of 3...Bb4+) is the c8-bishop. Being stuck behind the pawn chain is a problem, and it is not a super easy one to fix as the e-pawn needs to stay put in order to keep the pawn structure alive (not to mention that achieving e6-e5 is extremely difficult). The Bogo aims to solve that problem.

But what does a check with the dark-squared bishop have to do with solving the issues of the light-squared one? The idea is the following: To have a good position in chess, it is mandatory to control the center with pawns. That leaves a pawn on d5 or a pawn on e5 as options. If we go with the d5 option, we know the downside. So it is getting clear the idea is to go for e5 instead. However, if Black were to simply play 3...d6 and eventually e5, it would just replace one problem with another - the c8 bishop would be free, but the dark-squared bishop would now be in total lockdown! So now you see the idea of Bb4+ - Black wants to put the bishop somewhere outside of what is going to be the pawn structure c7-d6-e5 and solve the other bishop's problem in the process. This does mean that the dark-squared bishop's life if probably forfeit as it is alone in the enemies' camp, but you cannot have a bad bishop if there is no bishop in the first place, right?

White's turn to respond. What to do? It is clear there are three options - two knight moves, and a bishop move. White is not really considering neither 4.Qd2 nor 4.Nfd2 for now. Black's idea will be pretty much the same against all of them, but White's strategies will depend greatly on the move chosen now. We'll see each in turn.

White plays 4.Nc3

Wait, this is another story! We've transposed to the Nimzo-Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4)! That is true alright, but it is a very specific path of the enormous crossroads that is that opening. We won't go too deep (we never do anyway) - just enough to understand why Black does not mind this turn of events at all, and why White generally does not choose this move.

Black plays 4...Bxc3+

If the bishop was meant to take something, might as well do it when it cripples White's structure! Black could also wait to be provoked into this move, but then maybe the chance would pass after some Qc2 or Bd2.

White plays 5.bxc3 (with sad noises)

This is an important position. Black always intends to play d6 and e5 solving virtually all problems- but now White is stuck with a bad pawn structure as well. But doesn't this option (Bxc3+) also exist in the Nimzo-Indian, which is a serious opening for White? If you do not know, I'll tell you - it does - but here White has committed to Nf3 which is not great. The reasoning might be a bit convoluted so bear with me:

There are two main factors of the position: White's bishop pair, and Black's lesser control of the center (because, even though Black will get a pawn on e5, White will still have somewhat more control of it given the d4 and c4 pawns). We'll focus on the bishop pair, especially the c1-bishop, which does not have a counterpart.

When we have the bishop pair and there are many pawns on the board, we should aim to place our pawns on the same colour as the opponent's bishop - since we have two bishops, we'll need to disturb one of them anyway, so we might as well do the same to our opponent's. By placing a lot of pawns on a colour complex, that complex's bishop will suffer, but the other one will be free. If the opponent does not have this "other" bishop, we'll fully reap all the benefits of this strategy.

In the moment we're at, White is not fully prepared to put this idea in motion - White should place pawns on the light-squares, but the structure right now is locked on dark squares (d4-c3). So, the way to fix this would be to play e4 (and many times f3, though f2-f4 to destroy Black's control of the dark-squares and attack on the kingside is also a very important motif. It is always preferable to open up the position for bishops, if possible). So we see that this position is not ideal, as the knight on f3 is in the way of the f-pawn. It is of course playable, and moves like Nd2 come to mind, with a game.

Let's go back to move 4 and see how the game can develop if White chooses another move and does concede any structural weaknesses.

White plays 4.Bd2

This is the simplest move. Bishop check, bishop block. White realizes that there is not much to be done to stop d6-e5 from coming, so they aim to simply and quickly develop their pieces. So where will White's hopes of an advantage lie? The thing is, even when Black accomplishes e5, it will still be White who has better central control and more space (d4 and c4 for White vs e5 for Black), so White is hoping that that extra control on the queenside will be enough for an expansion there and easier play.

Black has a couple of ways to respond to this attack on the bishop but, for today, we'll just see the simplest way this story can continue.

Black plays 4...Bxd2+

All part of the plan for now. How should White recapture

White plays 5.Qxd2!

With the queen? Why? Wouldn't it be better to take with the knight, developing it? Thing is, knights like to be on the most central squares possible - and that means f3, c3, f6 and c6. Unless there is something very specific in the position that dictates that the knight should go somewhere else, the b1-knight really likes being on c3, where it can influence the center much better and not be so much in the way of the other pieces. Also, by taking with the queen, White is one further step closer to connecting the rooks, which is always something useful to accomplish.

Black plays 5...d6

White plays 6.Nc3

What a nice developing move!

Black plays 6...Nbd7

To support e6-e5

White now needs to decide where to advance the e-pawn to. There are pros and cons to each option. e3 is the square that is on the correct colour, given that White has the light-squared bishop. This move also reinforces the central dark squares. e4, however, is simply more central and gains more space.

e4 is probably best. White has enough control of the position for Black's counterplay on the dark squares to be ineffective, and the benefits of grabbing space in the center are too good to pass on, in this case. Still, it is a very playable position for both sides, and it is still the kind of position Black was going for, when they gave the check on the fourth move. Play could continue...

White plays 7.e4

Black plays 7...e5

White plays 8.Be2

Black plays 8...0-0

White plays 9.0-0

Black plays 9...Re8

With a pretty reasonable position for both sides. Black understands that White should be better given the central control and slight lead in development, but Black is super solid, has no weaknesses, and has the hopes of outplaying White on the dark-squares (given that the e2-bishop has potential to become a bad bishop). White, on the other hand, should just be careful to not get too carried away with the space advantage (for example by going d5 here - the e2- bishop really would become horrible, and Black would have a dream version of the King's Indian Defense!) and instead be patient, control Black's play by developing all pieces to the center, and eventually start expanding with a move like b4.

Let's rewind back to White's fourth move...

White plays 4.Nbd2

This is another big move. White is much more ambitious here - Black shall pay for their straightforward strategy with the bishop pair! As we know by now, the b4 bishop will have to be traded off after a move like a3, and White wants that trade to happen for a knight, without damaging any pawn structure. Black was prepared for this though, and their overall strategy remains the same.

Black could simply play 4...d6 actually, and do exactly the same thing as before. This time though, White would have better control of the softened dark squares, since the c1-bishop would still be alive. Because it would be a bit boring to just show the exact same lines, lets see another way Black can play.

Black plays 4...b6

A bit of a surprise! Black is developing the c8-bishop to b7. Overall, this is not such a big deal, as Black is placing pawns on the dark-squares, as prescribed. Also, Black will eventually play d6 and e5, so it will be very similar.

White plays 5.a3

The plan all along

Black plays 5...Bxd2+

White plays 6.Qxd2

Interesting move! If before White took with queen because of the placement of the b1-knight, what is the justification here? Well, it is similar. The bishop will be well placed on b2, influencing the center, whereas on d2 it is just a target for a knight jump to e4.

Black plays 6...Bb7

White plays 7.e3

Black plays 7... 0-0

Each side is simply developing...

White plays 8.Be2

Black plays 8...d6

Here goes Black again! The next moves for Black will be Nbd7, e5, maybe Qe7, and everything will be solid and reasonable. White, on the other hand, will develop the c1-bishop with moves like b4 and Bb2. Both sides have a reasonable game! It should also be said that Black could ditch the dark-squared strategy in this case and instead go for Ne4 and f5, a light-squared strategy, trying to argue that, again, White has the central pawns on the wrong colour-complex.

Recap

The Bogo-Indian a simple opening in which Black's whole strategy is to give up one bishop, and replace its influence by placing all pawns on the colour of that bishop. If White allows this opening to appear on the board, there is not much White can do about the strategy, but this does not mean that White does not hold any trumps. White can decide if they'll have the bishop pair and/or more central control, meaning Black sacrifices quality for practicality.

The simplicity of this opening attracts players to the Bogo-Indian, but it should be said that this opening carries a big practical problem - it only works if White plays 1.d4 and 2.c4 on the first two moves! Any other move order, and Black needs to invent something else, as the check on b4 is useless if White can block it with c2-c3.

As usual, there are many move orders and tiny details in the way each side develops their pieces which were not talked about, but today's story looked at the deeper strategy behind all of these details.

The end

I hope you enjoyed today's story, and stay tuned for story number three (hopefully not in 6 months). Also, I would like to share that I have recently created a YouTube channel where I post instructive (and sometimes hopefully funny) chess content - my sincere hope is that the content helps your chess journey in any way.