Symmetrical Variation, Pseudo-Catalan

The Pseudo-Catalan arises after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3. White prepares Bg2 and kingside castling, the setup of the Catalan, but has not yet advanced the c-pawn. This keeps the decision about c4 open. The cost is that nothing attacks d5, so Black has no reason to lock the c8-bishop behind ...e6. It can come to f5 or g4 first, which removes the problem piece that troubles Black in many genuine Catalan lines. For this reason the move order is considered less precise than the Catalan proper.

The most frequent reply is still 3...e6, which sets up a Queen's Gambit Declined pawn chain and leaves White to choose whether to commit to c4. The next most common are 3...Bf5, developing the bishop outside the chain, and 3...Nc6. Engines prefer 3...Bf5, 3...c5 and 3...Bg4, and judge the position equal. In online play White scores somewhat better than Black and few games are drawn. Of the main replies, 3...Nc6 gives White the best results.