How Hikaru Beats The Bogo-Indian

Dear chess friends,

Today I will show you how the greatest online blitz/bullet player of all time, GM Hikaru Nakamura, systematically beats the Bogo-Indian! 

This game was only played a couple of weeks ago online, so most of your opponents will not have seen it!

But once you've seen the clarity of Hikaru's plans - where he was able to get a decisive advantage against the Bogo-Indian at blitz speed without making a single mistake - you will never fear this opening again!

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The Starting Moves

The game Nakamura-Terry, Titled Tuesday May 12 2026, began 1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4, which leads us to Step 1 of how to beat the Bogo-Indian...

STEP 1: Meet ...Bb4 with Nd2!

After 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3, we have transposed to the 'normal' Bogo-Indian, with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4 4.Nbd2!, showing why the Bogo-Indian is inferior to the Nimzo-Indian - because we did not play Nc3 yet! 



This means that we don't have to be afraid of our pawns getting doubled with Bxc3 bxc3...which leads us to step 2!

Step 2: Develop The Kingside, Win The Bishop Pair With a3

In the game, Black played the unusual 4...a5!?, trying to avoid some of the problems that can arise after the alternatives:

A) 4...d5 is dubious because of 5.Qa4! Nc6 6.e3 followed by a3 and b4, when compared to the 5.Qa4 Ragozin, our knight is far more flexible on d2 than c3. 

B) 4...b6 5.a3 Bxd2 is how I played it as a teenager, but then 6.Nxd2! controls the key e4-square to give White a small and pleasant bishop pair advantage, as in the game Carlsen-Gazik, Chennai Olympiad 2024. 

C) 4...0-0 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d5 is the old main line, but is not seen much anymore due to 7.e5 Nfd7 8.Bd3 c5 9.h4!, threatening the Greek Gift sacrifice with Bxh7/Ng5 for a very strong attack on Black's king. 



For this reason, Black plays 6...d6 instead, switching to a King's Indian where the knight is less flexible on d2 than c3. At the same time, Black's bishop is also more passive on e7 than g7, and it also takes Black two moves, rather than one, to get in ...e5. For this reason, modern theory gives White a small pull after either 7.Be2 or 7.Bd3, though Black remains solid. 

Returning to the game, with 4...a5: Hikaru followed Step 2, but changed the move order with 5.e3 first, since after 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d5 7.e5 Nfd7 8.Bd3 c5, we don't have the h4/Bxh7/Ng5 plan available anymore when Black has not yet castled short! 

After 4...a5 5.e3 b6 6.Be2 Bb7 7.0-0 0-0 8.a3, arguably the world's strongest IM in blitz should have retreated the bishop with  8...Be7, as after 8...Bxd2 9.Nxd2! (Remember this Carlsen recapture?) 9...d6 10.b3 Nbd7 11.Bb2,



White had the two long-term advantages modern 1.d4 players dream of - a space advantage and the bishop pair advantage! (It was already 15 years ago that Georgian GM Giorgi Kacheishvili firmly established himself in the US coaching scene by bringing his students, GM Lenderman and Krush, to the 2500-2600+ level with a 1.d4 White repertoire designed for this purpose). 

Step 3: Play Against Their Minor Pieces

With the standard ...Ne4/...f5 counterplay made untenable by the Nxd2 recapture, and ...c5 only opening the long diagonal for our unopposed dark-squared bishop, Peruvian IM Terry played 11...Qe7 12.Re1 e5, following the Capablanca principle of placing our pawns on the opposite colour complex to his remaining bishop, while placing the pawns on the same complex as our unopposed bishop, to fight for control of the dark squares. 

What do you think Hikaru played then, with White to move? 



There are technically several good moves for White here...and if you want to minimize your blunders in your games, then get your FREE 'Anti-Blunder Blueprint' here! 



...but the best is the one Hikaru played, with 13.d5!. 

Why is this a favourable King's Indian structure for White? 

Well, their bishop on b7 is now completely passive, as ...c6 leads nowhere for Black after the reply e4. 

Furthermore, Black doesn't have an easy kingside pawn storm with ...f5-f4,...g5-g4 like in the Mar del Plata King's Indian, because the f6-knight is in the way, and we haven't given them an easy target because our pawns are on e3 and f2, not e4 and f3. 

Finally, we have the bishop pair advantage, meaning that the opening of the position (which is hard to avoid in the long-term) will tend to favour us. 

The rest of the middlegame went like clockwork for Hikaru: 13...Nc5 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 Rxa1 16.Ba1 Ncd7 sees the queenside open in White's favour, as after the game's 17.Bd3 Ra8 18.Bb2,



it transpires that the rook on the 'open file' is of little help, because the one entry point (a2) is easily dealt with by 18...Ra2 19.Qb3, while White still has their space and bishop pair advantage from before. Indeed, it's hard to point to a good plan for Black here, probably because there isn't one ;) 

Step 4: Shut Out The Counterplay, Then Convert The Long-Term Advantages

Nakamura increased his advantage with the subsequent 18...h6 19.e4 g6 20.Bc1 Nh5 21.g3, cutting out any possible counterplay with ...Nf4. After 21...Kh7 22.Nf1! (with a knight on f8, there can never be mate - GM Bent Larsen) 22...Bc8 23.Qd2, Black blundered a pawn with 23...Ndf6?! 24.Qxh6 Kg8 25.f3, when Hikaru had no problems converting his extra pawn. But even a better move like 23...g5 leaves Black in severe strategic trouble after 24.Ne3, exploiting the fresh weakness on f5 while still keeping the option open of winning the game on the queenside. 

Summary/Conclusion

What was one of the moves or ideas that you LOVED from this article?

Here's my summary of the 4 steps to beating the Bogo-Indian like Hikaru: 

Step 1: Meet ...Bb4 with Nd2!

Step 2: Develop The Kingside, Win The Bishop Pair With a3

Step 3: Play Against Their Minor Pieces

Step 4: Shut Out The Counterplay, Then Convert The Long-Term Advantages

Good luck playing against the Bogo-Indian in your own games!

If this post inspired you to start playing like Hikaru as Black as well as White, check out my course 'Play 1...g6 Like Hikaru' here!