Portuguese Gambit, Wuss Variation

The Wuss Variation answers the Portuguese Gambit's 3...Bg4 by interposing the king's bishop with 4. Be2. This is the simplest of White's ways to deal with the threat to d1. Unlike 4. f3, it does not loosen the kingside or deprive the knight of f3, and it does not try to hold the extra pawn on d5. The price is that the bishop is offered for exchange, and once it disappears the d5 pawn loses a defender. Black almost always accepts with 4...Bxe2 5. Nxe2 Qxd5 6. O-O. Material is then level, White has castled, and the queen on d5 stands in the center without any immediate target. The position is considered equal.

With the gambit defused, the game turns into a quiet open position in which neither side has a structural weakness to aim at. Alternatives for Black are rare. 4...Bf5 keeps the bishop but leaves White with a sound extra pawn, and White scores well against it. 4...h5 is seen even less often. Engines rate the position as roughly balanced, and in online games Black's results are slightly better than White's.