Normal Variation, Deferred Fianchetto

With 5. g3 White puts the king's bishop on g2 only after e4 is already in place, a slower, more positional choice than 5. Nf3, 5. f3 or 5. f4. Black nearly always castles with 5...O-O, with 5...Nbd7 and 5...Nc6 far behind. The structure tends to stay flexible; Black often trades the e-pawn for White's d-pawn and then targets e4 and the dark squares on the queenside, while White aims pieces at d6 and the kingside. Engines rate the position as level.