Now have I read "Zurich International Candidates Tournament, 1953. ". I was a very strange tournamnet in many aspects, I got the impression that black had better results than white!

There where many nice games there and now I understand why modern theory recommends other moves or move orders within the Nimzo. It was also interesting to see lines raraly played in other openings and some unusal defences and some Nimzo Indian lines I had never seen before.

However I also go the feeling that modern 2700+ players plays better chess but I realy liked that book anyway.

I am currently reading "Taimanovs Selected games " (or something like that). I did have an entire chapter towards white in Nimzo Indian with e3 and also a chapter about white in Kings Indian. I have however not read the entire book yet, I  am currently at attacking games chapters that follows. Might be of interest.

4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nge2 d5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 -

This was the line I was thinking of, although there are a number of alternatives both from a move order perspective and in terms of the resulting position with this alternative structure.  There are a couple of reasons why Nge2 is an alternative to Nf3; first, you don't block the f pawn.  Second, you obtain an alternative means of recapture on c3, and a choice of pawn structures as a result.

There is also a line or two where Black meets cxd5 with exd5.  Not all of these are the most respected main lines, but just because theory has not favored an alternative does not render it a nullity.  The position after 9. bxc3 has 123 games in Chesslive.de.

I think a discussion depends on what Black is proposing to do: If 4. e3 c5 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Ne2 cxd4, for instance, then you have a very different game than after 4. e3 c5 5. Bd3 d5.  I agree with the previous posters that in the event of an isolated pawn position, White is better off with Nf3 than Ne2.  However, the point of Ne2 is to avoid both the IQP and the doubled c-pawns by maintaining a choice of ways to recapture on c3 (I think), so maybe this isn't a major problem.

I haven't played the Rubinstein for White, though, only from the Black side, so perhaps I'm just projecting a Black player's fears onto the variation.

MNb wrote on 10/04/11 at 02:16:50:

I support your opinion. If white plays 5.Bd3 the king's knight seems way better on f3 than on e2. The move Nge2 is better only when connected with a2-a3 and Ne2xc3 intention right away..i.e. on the 5th move.. 

I'm working my way through Sokolov's excellent book Winning Chess Middlegames. He gives quite a lot of analyses of the Rubinstein variation With Bd3 & Ne2 which he says he played a lot in the nineteen eighties. Can I have your expert opinion please - is this a good line for white against the Nimzo-Indian? is it difficult for black to equalize?