Symmetrical Variation, Ultra-Symmetrical Variation

The Ultra-Symmetrical Variation arises after 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6, with both sides having fianchettoed and brought out the queen's knight. The bishops on g2 and g7 bear down on the long diagonals, and the knights on c3 and c6 add to the pressure on d5 and d4. No central pawn has moved, so the play turns on White's fifth move, which decides how and when the symmetry is broken. The engine rates the position as roughly balanced, and White scores slightly better in practice.

The three main tries are close in popularity at the top. 5. e3 heads for Nge2, where the knight supports a later d4 break. 5. Nf3 is the Three Knights, Fianchetto Variation, which keeps the setup flexible and allows Black to go on mirroring with ...Nf6. 5. e4 is the Botvinnik System. It takes a firm grip on d5 and leads to plans with Nge2, d3 and O-O, after which White can expand with f4 or b4. All three produce slow, maneuvering games in which piece placement and timing count for more than concrete theory.