Classical Attack, Mason-Showalter Variation
- 1.e4e5
- 2.Nf3Nf6
- 3.Nxe5d6
- 4.Nf3Nxe4
- 5.d4d5
- 6.Bd3Nc6
1,211 games
Petrov's Defense line in which Black answers the Classical Attack with 6...Nc6, usually leading to the Jaenisch Variation after 7. O-O and 8. c4.
Train it in TheoriaAbout the Mason-Showalter Variation
The Mason-Showalter Variation, 6...Nc6, develops the queen's knight to its natural square, where it pressures d4 and can later jump to b4 to challenge the bishop on d3. White nearly always castles, and after 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 play enters the Jaenisch Variation, the main battleground of the Classical Attack. The immediate 7. c4 and the quieter 7. c3 are rarer. Engines assess the position as roughly balanced.