Ponderchess / Openings
Play the guided film, or select a scene to pause and study its position.
Opening
The Nimzo-Indian Defense in 3D
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4. Black pins the knight to control e4, often giving up the bishop to double White's c-pawns.
Rebuild the sequence yourself. The board responds to each move, and hints are available.
Click or drag to move · Arrow keys + Enter to play
Your turn · white to play
Select a piece, then its destination. Switch to 2D for a clear overhead view or rotate the 3D board to explore the position.
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Simagin Variation, move by move: d4 Nf6 c4 e6 Nc3 Bb4 e3 O-O …
The white pieces
Open the position for your bishops, and use the c-pawns to control the centre.
The black pieces
Blockade White's pawns on dark squares, and use the knights to target the weak c-pawns.
Look a little deeper · 01
The fight revolves around e4 and around White's bishop pair versus Black's healthier pawns.
Look a little deeper · 02
The main White systems are the Rubinstein (4.e3) and the Classical (4.Qc2), which avoids doubled pawns.
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Simagin Variation, move by move: d4 Nf6 c4 e6 Nc3 Bb4 e3 O-O …
Keyboard: Space pauses, the arrow keys step. Gold arrows are White's moves, violet are Black's, red rays are threats, green shows support, blue shows plans.
