Hungarian Defense

The Hungarian Defense, 3...Be7, is Black's most modest answer to the Italian Game. The king's bishop goes to e7 instead of c5, which sidesteps both the Two Knights Defense and the Giuoco Piano. On e7 the bishop cannot be hit by c3 and d4 or by b4, and it covers g5, so a later ...Nf6 does not invite Ng5 against f7. The cost is passivity. White gets extra space and smoother development, and Black has to be willing to defend a somewhat cramped game. Harding and Botterill considered the line suitable only for playing for a draw, with White retaining a small plus in most variations. The engine also gives White a slight edge.

The principled reply is 4. d4, the most common move in practice and the engine's first choice. Black answers with 4...exd4 or 4...d6, and transpositions to the Scotch Game or the Philidor Defense occur often. After 4...exd4 5. Nxd4 the game reaches a Scotch line in which White enjoys more space. The gambit 5. c3 is less highly rated. It hopes for 5...dxc3?! 6. Qd5, which ended the game Midjord–Scharf at the 1974 Nice Olympiad on the spot. Chigorin recommended 5...Na5 instead, which forces White either to concede the bishop pair with 6. Qxd4 or to give up a pawn. The Tartakower Variation, 5...Nf6 6. e5 Ne4, is another option. After 7. Bd5 Nc5 8. cxd4 Ne6 9. Bb3, Unzicker assessed the position as better for White.

With 4...d6 Black keeps a foothold on e5, and White can choose from several plans that each promise a modest advantage. After 5. dxe5 dxe5 6. Qxd8+ Bxd8 7. Nc3, White has a slightly favorable queenless middlegame. The recapture 5...Nxe5? is a mistake because of 6. Nxe5 dxe5 7. Qh5, which strikes e5 and f7 simultaneously and wins a pawn. Closing the center with 5. d5 Nb8, followed by Bd3 and c4 for queenside expansion, gives a structure akin to the Old Indian Defense. The quieter 5. Nc3 maintains the central tension in favor of active piece play.

The slower 4. O-O and 4. d3 are each nearly as popular as 4. d4 in online games. After 4. d3, the reply 4...Nf6 transposes into the Two Knights Defense. Other tries, such as 4. O-O Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. d4 Bg4 or Steinitz's 4. c3 Nf6, are considered less testing. Results at club level are close to even.

The defense is uncommon in modern practice. It has occasionally been adopted by grandmasters with a defensive, positional bent, among them Reshevsky, Hort, Petrosian and Smyslov. Cozio examined it in the 18th century. Its name refers to the Paris–Pest correspondence contest of 1842–1845.