Bayonet Attack

The Bayonet Attack, also called the Mariotti Attack, arises from 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be2 Bg7 5. h4. Rather than transposing to the Classical System with 5. Nf3, White advances the h-pawn at once, preparing h4-h5 against the fianchettoed king. The most common reply, 5...h5, halts the pawn, while 5...O-O and 5...Nc6 score worse for Black. Engines prefer 5...c5 and assess the position as roughly balanced.