Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation

With 2...b6 Black mirrors White's queenside fianchetto, intending ...Bb7 to bear down on the e4-pawn. White's 2. b3 has left that pawn without its usual support, and Black hopes to build an early initiative from the pressure against it. White almost always answers 3. Bb2, so that both bishops face each other's long diagonals. The alternatives 3. Nc3, which guards e4 directly, and 3. g3 are far less common. The variation is rarely played. The engine rates it roughly balanced, and White scores somewhat better in the database.