How to Play the Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian c5 as White

With 4.d5 you close the centre and gain space on the queenside. Black's knight on f6 may feel cramped, and their light-squared bishop is blocked behind the e6-pawn. The engine's top recommendation for Black is actually the sharp reply b5 — a pawn sacrifice that opens lines. But in practice, most club players won't find that. Instead, 84,054 games saw Black capture with exd5, taking your pawn and allowing you to recapture with the c-pawn. That structure — a White pawn on d5 versus a Black pawn on d6 — gives you a lasting space advantage and a nice target to build pressure around. The key idea: don't rush. Your edge is positional, and it stays as long as you develop calmly.

At depth 16, Stockfish recommends b5 for Black, with the continuation b5 dxe6 fxe6 cxb5. Black sacrifices a pawn to activate their pieces and open the f-file for a rook. This is a sharp, principled response — but it's also rare. Only 7,678 games in the database saw b5, and White still scores a solid 50.1% there. If Black plays b5 against you, the engine line shows you should accept the pawn with dxe6 and then cxb5, leaving you a pawn up in a slightly messy position. Stay calm, keep your king safe, and trust your extra material. Most opponents won't play b5, but knowing the idea means you won't be caught off guard if they do.

Black's most popular move is exd5 (84,054 games, White scores 52.9%). You recapture with the c-pawn and get a classic pawn-centre advantage. Next up is d6 (22,394 games, White scores 50.8%) — Black prepares to develop but keeps the centre closed; you can simply develop your pieces naturally and let the space advantage grow. The stats show you actually score best against more passive moves: Bd6 (2,237 games) gives you 61.9%, and b6 (3,283 games) gives you 58.4%. What do those moves have in common? They don't challenge your d5 pawn directly. When Black avoids immediate confrontation, your space advantage grows without risk. So if Black plays timidly, just develop naturally and let your centre do the work.

The data identifies Be7 as a concrete mistake, losing roughly 1.3 pawns compared to the better move b5. That might seem strange — Be7 looks like a normal developing move. But here, it fails to fight for the centre and simply lets White consolidate the space advantage without resistance. The engine says Black should have played the sharp b5 instead, meaning Be7 is too passive. Over 4,000 games in the database saw Be7, and White scored 57.0% — good, but not as punishing as the evaluation suggests because most players don't find the precise follow-up. In the drill, if Black plays Be7, look for ways to consolidate your space and slowly squeeze Black. Don't hand back your advantage with a careless pawn move.