Modern Attack, Symmetrical Variation

The Symmetrical Variation arises when Black meets the Modern Attack, 3. d4, by advancing the d-pawn as well. All four center pawns then stand in mutual contact. Rather than committing to a capture, Black passes the decision back to White. It is a less frequent answer to 3. d4 than 3...Nxe4 or 3...exd4. Engines give White a slight edge, and White scores clearly better in online games.

The most popular reply by a wide margin is 4. dxe5, which hits the f6-knight and steers toward an unbalanced game. Engines prefer 4. exd5. With 4. Nxe5 White invites a transposition: after 4...Nxe4 5. Bd3 the game reaches the main line of the Modern Attack. That position also arises from 3...Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5, where Black usually chooses between 5...Nd7 and 5...Bd6. Taking the other pawn with 4...dxe4 is regarded as a mistake, because 5. Bc4 targets f7. After 5...Be6 6. Bxe6 fxe6, Black is saddled with doubled, isolated e-pawns.