Panov Attack, Main Line

After 5...e6 6. Nf3, Black develops the dark-squared bishop to b4 rather than e7. The pin on the c3-knight weakens one of White's main attackers of d5 and prepares to castle quickly. Because Black's pawns stand on d5 and e6 and the bishop sits on b4, the positions often transpose into Nimzo-Indian structures, with the isolated queen's pawn arising once the c- and d-pawns are exchanged. 6...Be7 used to be the more popular choice, but 6...Bb4 is more active. With the pin, Black can also consider ...Bxc3 to damage White's queenside pawns.

The most common reply is 7. cxd5, which settles the central tension at once. 7. Bd3 develops the kingside with an aggressive IQP setup, and 7. Bg5 adds a second pin, this time against the f6-knight. The engine rates the position as roughly balanced and also prefers Be2 as a quieter way of completing development. In the Lichess database White scores somewhat better, and draws are rare, which reflects how double-edged the isolated-pawn middlegames tend to be.