King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, a6

With 6...a6 Black prepares a retreat for the c5-bishop to a7, so it can stay on the a7-g1 diagonal if White chases it with a later b4 or Na4. Castling with 7. O-O is by far the usual reply. 7. Bg5, pinning the f6-knight, is less common but has scored well for White, and 7. a3 is a further option. The engine also favors 7. e3, which covers d4, and rates the position as roughly balanced.