Steinitz Defense, Center Gambit

The Center Gambit is a branch of the Steinitz Defense in which White answers 4...exd4 with 5. O-O, castling instead of recapturing on d4 and leaving Black a pawn ahead for now. In return, White gets faster development while the pin on the c6-knight persists. Black most often breaks that pin with 5...Bd7, while 5...Nf6 and 5...Bg4 are less common. Engines still rate White slightly better, and White scores well in the small number of recorded games.