Valencian Variation, Ilundain Variation

The Ilundain Variation departs from the Main Line of the Valencian Variation at move five: instead of developing the bishop at once with 5...Bg4, Black plays 5...c6. The pawn move takes b5 and d5 from White's pieces and opens a path for the queen toward a5 or b6. It also postpones the decision about the light-squared bishop, which can still go to g4 or f5 depending on how White deploys, before ...e6 completes the familiar compact formation against the d4 pawn. The line is associated with David Garcia Ilundain, one of the grandmasters who play 3...Qd8.

White has a free hand in development. 6. Bc4 is the most common choice, placing the bishop on an active diagonal before Black has settled the center. 6. Bg5 pins the f6-knight, and 6. Bd3 covers f5, discouraging ...Bf5. Engines give White a slight edge, typical of the space advantage White holds throughout the 3...Qd8 complex. In online games, however, results are almost evenly split. The play is mostly positional, with Black accepting a modest position in exchange for having very few structural weaknesses.