Advance Variation, Extended Bishop Swap

With 3...Bd7, Black postpones the usual 3...c5 and addresses the French bishop at once, planning ...a6 and ...Bb5 to exchange it for White's more active light-squared bishop. The typical continuation is 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bd3 Bb5 6. O-O Bxd3 7. Qxd3, which removes Black's worst minor piece but costs several tempi while the d4-pawn remains unchallenged. The critical reply is 5. c4, which stops the swap from working smoothly: after 5...dxc4 6. Bxc4 Bb5 7. Bb3 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 Ne7 9. a4, the bishop is driven back and must choose between c6, where it gets in the way of the ...c5 break, and d7, where it does little. Black can also revert to standard lines, since 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Qb6 transposes to the Wade Variation.

4. Nf3 is the most common reply, ahead of 4. c3 and the more ambitious 4. f4. In online games Black scores slightly better than White, and the engine regards the position as roughly balanced.