Fianchetto Variation, Rubinstein Variation

After 5...c5 6. d5 exd5, White plays 7. Nh4 instead of recapturing at once, which leaves Black a pawn up for the moment. The knight move opens the long diagonal for the g2-bishop toward d5 and b7 and eyes f5, while cxd5 remains available to restore material. The most frequent replies are 7...g6, which covers f5, and 7...d6. The line is seldom played. The engine gives White a slight edge, although Black scores marginally better in the database.