Spassky Variation

After 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3, the Spassky Variation answers White's planned fianchetto with 2...b5. Black gains queenside space and prepares ...Bb7 to oppose the bishop on the long diagonal, and the b5-pawn takes away the c4-square. Its drawback is that the pawn has no protection yet. White almost always continues 3. Bg2. 3. a4, which strikes at the pawn at once, and 3. d4 are rare. Engines judge the position roughly balanced, and results are nearly even, with Black scoring marginally better.