Tarrasch Variation, Eliskases Variation

The Eliskases Variation is a branch of the Chistyakov Defense in which Black, after 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4, withdraws the attacked queen to d8. Black keeps the extra d4-pawn for the moment, while White relies on a lead in development to recover it, usually through 7. O-O, the most common reply, or 7. Nb3 aiming at d4. The engine rates the position as roughly balanced, and online results are close to even.