Steinitz Defense

The Steinitz Defense, sometimes called the Old Steinitz Defense, answers the Ruy Lopez with 3...d6, propping up e5 at once instead of questioning the bishop with 3...a6. The support is not strictly needed, since the e5 pawn is not yet under real threat, and the move has drawbacks. With the d-pawn gone from d7, the knight on c6 becomes pinned to the king, which weakens Black's hold on the center. The light-squared bishop gains an open diagonal while the dark-squared bishop is shut in behind d6, so development hardly benefits.

The most testing reply is 4. d4, adding pressure on e5. Black can trade at once with 4...exd4 5. Nxd4, or unpin with 4...Bd7 so that 5. Bxc6 and 6. dxe5 no longer wins a pawn. After 4...Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1, the pressure forces 7...exd4, because castling instead falls into the Tarrasch Trap. This pattern is typical: White can nearly always make Black abandon the e5 strongpoint, leaving White more space and freer piece play, while Black stays compact and waits for counterplay.

Several branches of 4. d4 carry names. In the Nimzowitsch Attack, 4...Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bxc6 gives up the bishop early. The Semi-Duras Variation, 4...Bd7 5. c4, grabs queenside space instead of developing the knight. The Center Gambit, 4...exd4 5. O-O, castles rather than recapturing on d4. White also has quieter moves such as 4. O-O, 4. Nc3 and 4. c3, which usually lead to an eventual d4. In online games the immediate exchange 4. Bxc6+ is the most frequent reply, ahead of 4. d4 and 4. O-O. Engines give White a slight edge, and White scores somewhat better in practice.

Wilhelm Steinitz recommended 3...d6 in his 1889 book of analysis, arguing that Black could equalize with it. He disliked 3...a6 because it sends the bishop to a square it wants anyway, and he objected to ...Nf6 because the knight blocks the ...f5 break; in that sense 3...d6 serves as a waiting move. Steinitz underestimated 4. d4, now considered the critical test. Emanuel Lasker and José Raúl Capablanca also played the defense, and Vasily Smyslov did so occasionally, but it fell out of use after World War I. The Modern Steinitz, 3...a6 4. Ba4 d6, has since replaced it, as the ...b5 resource lets Black break the pin and keep the center. The original version is now a minor sideline in tournament play but remains common at amateur level.