Tarrasch Variation, Pawn Center Variation

The Pawn Center Variation arises from the Closed Variation of the Tarrasch, 3...Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7, when White plays 5. f4 instead of the more common 5. Bd3. The pawns on d4, e5 and f4 overprotect e5 and claim space on the kingside, which makes the undermining break ...f6 harder for Black to carry out. The structure resembles the Steinitz Variation of the Classical French, but with the knight on d2 White keeps c3 available to shore up d4 and can reroute that knight to f3 later. The cost is time and a loosened dark-square diagonal: the f-pawn advance does nothing for development, and it opens the g1–a7 diagonal, along which a black queen on b6 adds weight to the pressure on d4.

Black almost always replies 5...c5, hitting the base of the chain at once; 5...Be7 and 5...a6 are rare alternatives. The engine gives White a slight edge, and White scores somewhat better than Black in online games, though the line is played far less often than 5. Bd3.