Hanham Variation, Steiner Variation

The Steiner Variation arises from the Krause line (5. O-O) of the Hanham Variation when Black continues 5...Be7 and White exchanges at once with 6. dxe5. Because 4...c6 already covers d5, the recapture 6...dxe5, chosen in almost all games, no longer allows Qd5, while 6...Nxe5 is a rare alternative that has scored poorly for Black. Engines rate White's position as clearly better, yet Black has scored somewhat better in online games.