Alapin Variation, Anti-Alapin Gambit

Instead of recapturing at once with 3...Qxd5, as in the Barmen Defense, Black develops the king's knight first. The idea recalls the Tal Gambit against 2. f4. White's most common reply, 4. d4, returns the pawn. Black can then take with the queen and transpose to the Barmen, but 4...Nxd5 avoids the familiar lines. A knight offers White fewer targets for gaining tempi than a queen, and after 5. Nf3 cxd4 6. cxd4 it already blockades the isolated d-pawn.

White can also try to keep the extra pawn. The direct 4. c4 is met by 4...e6, and after the exchange on e6 Black's lead in development is judged adequate compensation. Checking first is considered more accurate. The engine prefers 4. Qa4+, which holds the pawn without conceding the bishop pair, followed by 4. Bb5+, where 4...Nbd7 is more usual than 4...Bd7. The engine gives White a slight edge, though results in practice are level. Lakdawala and Hansen devoted a 2022 book to the line. Carlsen played it at the Chessable Masters that year, and it appeared in Nepomniachtchi–Erigaisi at the 2023 World Blitz Championship.