Four Pawns Attack, Fianchetto Variation

The Fianchetto Variation meets the Four Pawns Attack with 5...g6 instead of the usual 5...dxe5. Black leaves the pawn on d6 where it is for now and prepares ...Bg7, from where the bishop works along the long diagonal against d4 and e5. This adds long-range pressure to the piece play typical of the defense, rather than relying on an early exchange in the center. Magnus Carlsen is among the players who have used it. The fianchetto has a drawback, however. Advancing the g-pawn gives White a target on the kingside, and attacking ideas such as h4-h5 become available to open lines there.

White's most frequent reply is 6. Nf3, supporting d4 and e5, though Black has scored well against it in online games. The main alternatives are 6. Nc3 and 6. Be3, which give White better practical results. Engines favor 6. Nc3, and they also rate 6. Be2 and 6. Nf3 highly. They assess the position as a slight edge for White, yet across all recorded games Black wins more often than White. The line sits outside the mainstream of Four Pawns theory and appears only occasionally.