Austrian Defense

The Austrian Defense answers the Queen's Gambit with the symmetrical 2...c5, attacking d4 at once instead of shoring up d5. It is filed under the Queen's Gambit Declined in the broad sense that Black does not take on c4, but no ...e6 is involved. By copying White's c-pawn thrust, Black challenges the center immediately and tries to keep White from settling into a comfortable initiative. The idea dates back to Alessandro Salvio in 1604. Its name comes from the Austrian players Hans Haberditz, Hans Müller and Ernst Grünfeld, who analyzed it. Theory considers it close to equal, though accurate play is thought to leave White some practical pressure, and the engine gives White a slight edge.

The classical main line is 3. cxd5. After it, 3...Nf6 is the Gusev Countergambit, and 4. e4 Nxe4 5. dxc5 Qa5+ is the forcing Haberditz Variation. With 3. dxc5 White swaps the d-pawn for Black's c-pawn, which opens the position early. 3. Nc3 is the most frequent choice in online games, slightly ahead of 3. cxd5. 3. Nf3 invites a transposition to the Tarrasch Defense.