Three Pawns Attack

The Three Pawns Attack, 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. f4, uses the delay of ...Nf6 to seize as much central space as possible. Before committing a single piece, White sets up pawns on d4, e4 and f4, preparing e4-e5 to restrict Black's knights and gain more ground. The drawbacks are typical of such centers. White's development lags, the a7-g1 diagonal and the e4 pawn can become targets, and Black's fianchettoed bishop presses on d4. Engines nonetheless rate White's position as slightly better.

The most common reply is 3...d6, which takes e5 under control and keeps play close to the Pseudo-Austrian and Pirc structures if White develops the queen's knight. 3...e6 is the second most frequent choice and prepares a later ...d5 or ...d6 with a compact center. The direct 3...c5 hits d4 at once and gives Black the best practical results of the main replies. Engines also consider 3...Nh6, which develops the knight without allowing e4-e5 to drive it back, and 3...d5. In online play the line is fairly popular, and overall results are close to level.