Queenside Fianchetto Variation

The Queenside Fianchetto Variation meets 1. Nf3 with 1...b6, aiming for ...Bb7. Unlike 1...d5 or 1...Nf6, it does not stop 2. e4 with a pawn or knight. Black instead plans to aim the bishop at e4 and the long diagonal, keeping the central pawns flexible and challenging the center later rather than occupying it at once. Reference sources class it among the rarer answers to the knight move, though it still appears in a large number of online games.

The most common reply is 2. g3. White prepares a kingside fianchetto, and the bishops then face each other along the long diagonal. Almost as frequent is 2. d4, which claims the center and can lead to Queen's Indian-type structures if Black adds ...e6 and ...Nf6. The third main option, 2. e4, takes the center Black left uncontested and asks whether the b7 bishop can put enough pressure on it. Engines also suggest 2. Nc3 and 2. c4. The engine gives White a slight edge, and White scores somewhat better than Black in practice, most noticeably after 2. g3.