with Be2

This line of the London System arises after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 d6, when White develops the king's bishop with 5. Be2 rather than the customary 5. Bd3. The reasoning is that once Black has fianchettoed and placed a pawn on g6, a bishop on d3 points at a blocked diagonal. On e2 the bishop is more modest but keeps options open, covers the kingside, and leaves White's usual scheme of c3, Nbd2 and h3 intact. It is filed under ECO A48 with the other London lines against ...g6.

Black castles in the large majority of games with 5...O-O, after which the familiar choice is between preparing ...e5 with ...Nbd7 and ...Re8, or striking at the center with ...c5. Playing 5...Nbd7 at once is a less common route toward the same ...e5 plan. The engine's top choice, 5...Nh5, goes after the f4 bishop immediately. It is played less often, and White has scored slightly better against it in practice. Overall, results from this position are almost evenly divided and the engine regards the game as level.