Symmetrical Variation

The Symmetrical Variation of the Queen's Pawn Game, classified under ECO D02, is the position after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6, where Black answers White's knight development with the same move. It is also reached by the transposing order 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5. With 2...Nf6 Black adds a second guard to e4, prepares kingside castling and keeps every structure open: ...e6, ...c6 and ...c5 all remain available, and as long as White's c-pawn stays at home there is little pressure on d5, so the c8-bishop can come out before the e-pawn moves.

The variation's character depends almost entirely on White's third move, because 2. Nf3 commits White to nothing beyond the knight. Engines favor 3. c4, which transposes into the Queen's Gambit. Arriving there by way of 1...Nf6 and 2. Nf3 is a recognized move-order device, since putting the knight on f3 before advancing the c-pawn denies Black the Budapest Gambit.

On Lichess, however, the two most frequent replies are setup moves. 3. e3 heads for the Colle System and is the standard move order for players of that scheme, while 3. Bf4, played almost as often, gives the London System. 3. Bg5 is the Torre Attack, in which the bishop pins the f6-knight and the exchange on f6 to double Black's pawns becomes an option. 3. g3, the Pseudo-Catalan, fianchettoes the king's bishop as in the Catalan but without c4 already played; the drawback of this order is that Black can develop the light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain without difficulty. A developing move such as 3. Nc3 is playable but harmless, because the knight obstructs the c-pawn that White normally uses to fight for the center, and Black equalizes comfortably.

The position ranks among the most frequently reached named openings. Engine evaluation is roughly balanced, and White scores somewhat better than Black in online play, with few draws. Among the main third moves, 3. c4 and 3. g3 bring White the best results, while the Colle, London and Torre continuations score close to the average for the position.