Kennedy Variation, Paulsen Attack

The Paulsen Attack is the usual way of meeting the recapture 3...Nxe5 in the Kennedy Variation. Rather than chasing the knight with 4. f4 or developing with 4. Nc3, as in the Keres Attack, White simply develops the king's knight and attacks the centralized black knight. The position has half-open d- and e-files, with White's e4 pawn as the only central pawn left. Black has to decide whether to exchange the knights or retreat. The engine gives White a slight edge, and White scores better than Black in practice.

The most common reply, chosen in over half of games, is 4...Nxf3+ 5. Qxf3. This brings White's queen into play early. Black can then offer a queen trade with 5...Qf6, steering the game toward an early endgame with few pieces left. The retreats 4...Ng6 and 4...Nc6 keep more pieces on the board and are each seen in about a tenth of games. Of the main replies, 4...Nc6 gives Black the best practical results. Among the engine's preferred moves is 4...d6, which keeps the knight on e5 and protects it with a pawn.