The Nimzo-Indian Reloaded: A Complete Repertoire for Black – Part 2
Some ideas wait years for their moment. Back in 2014, with virtually no practical games to lean on, GM Pier Luigi Basso began analyzing a quiet developing move in one of the sharpest corners of the Nimzo-Indian — 8...Nc6 — and then set it aside. It remained largely unexplored until GM Daniel Fridman finally brought it to the board.
Part 2 of The Nimzo-Indian Reloaded is where that idea, and the entire 4.Qc2 complex around it, receives its full treatment. If Part 1 was about out-waiting the Rubinstein, this volume is about reviving a concept that sat dormant for a decade — the "reload" is an old idea given new life.
Why 4.Qc2, and why these authors
The choice of battleground is personal. GM Alexey Dreev and GM Pier Luigi Basso both spent years playing 4.Qc2 from the White side, and both know exactly which reply spoils White's day.
That reply is 4...d5 — in their own words, the most annoying move a 4.Qc2 player has to meet. Part 2 hands Black that move and shows how to make it work across the mainline, the 5.a3 systems, and every sideline in between.
The result is a repertoire built by players who understand the White position from the inside, then turned that knowledge against it. Black doesn't fight to merely equalize; after 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 g5 8.Bg3 Nc6, the plan is immediate activity — the bishop is kicked back and Black creates concrete threats with ...h5–h4.
Variation map
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 g5 8.Bg3 Nc6! 9.e3 h5 — Black plays for activity; the ...h4 threat looms
- 10.Bb5 — the main line, analyzed in great detail → Chapter 6
- 10.Bd3 and other sidelines → Chapter 5
White's earlier deviations after 5.cxd5 exd5:
- 6.Bf4 → Chapter 3
- 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 — the more positional approach → Chapter 4
White's fifth-move alternatives:
- 5.Nf3 and other sidelines → Chapter 2
5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 — preparing ...Qa5+, after which b4 fails to ...Nxb4
- 9.e3 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Nxd2 11.Qxd2 Qxc5 → Chapter 8
- 9.Nf3 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Qxc5 11.e3 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 → Chapter 9
- 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nf3 Bf5 11.b4 O-O → Chapter 10
What's inside
- 10 theory chapters with video instruction throughout
- Basso's 15-minute video — the whole repertoire in condensed form
- The Memory File — all 10 chapters condensed into one, with the key lines
- 5 Key Things to Know — the typical patterns and concepts of the repertoire
- 3 model games — the ideas shown in complete, high-level play
- 30 test positions — critical moments with tactical and strategic solutions
- 5 training positions for interactive practice against the engine
- Memory Booster — for long-term recall of the main ideas
- To-Go version of every chapter — condensed files for fast pre-game review
- Multilingual PGN — English, German, French and Spanish
- Full download access — all materials are yours to keep
Completing the repertoire
Part 2 is the second half of a two-volume project. Part 1 covers the Rubinstein (4.e3) and every other fourth move — 4.f3, 4.Bd2, 4.Bg5, 4.g3, 4.a3, and 4.Qb3 — while deliberately reserving 4.Qc2 for this volume.
Studied together, the two parts give Black a complete, ready-to-play answer to the Nimzo-Indian, built on understanding rather than memorization. Add Part 2 to lock down the one line Part 1 left open, and start meeting 4.Qc2 with a repertoire its own authors couldn't crack from the White side.