Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation: what to play after e6?

In the Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation, White faces a choice against Black's kingside fianchetto setup. The engine prefers Bf4 (evaluated at +0.72) to develop the dark-squared bishop outside the pawn chain before committing the central structure. Although Bg5 remains the overwhelmingly popular traditional choice, played in 77.3% of the 210,174 recorded games, developing via Bf4 or aggressive pushes like h4 offer White a stable plus.

Developing with Bf4

Opting for Bf4 accounts for 14.6% of recorded games (31K recorded) and delivers a 56.3% scoring rate for White. Placing the bishop on f4 secures an active post along the central diagonals without running into immediate pins or tactical complications. An illustrative engine continuation runs Bf4 Bg7 e3 O-O Rc1 a6, showing White smoothly solidifying the center with pawns while putting pressure down the c-file.

The Traditional Bg5 and Aggressive Alternatives

By far the most established move in the database is Bg5, appearing in 162K games with an evaluation of +0.61 and a 57.4% score for White. The sample line Bg5 Bg7 e3 O-O Rc1 h6 leads to classic maneuvering where Black challenges the bishop's placement. Alternatively, the engine awards its highest raw evaluation to h4 (+0.82), a rare thrust seen in just 0.6% of games (1.3K recorded), scoring 57.8% following the continuation h4 Bg7 h5 Nxh5 Bg5 Nf6.

Positional Choices: g3 and h3

White can also steer the game into more quiet waters. The fianchetto continuation g3 is chosen in 6.3% of games (13K recorded) with an evaluation of +0.61 and a 57.5% score, often leading to g3 Bg7 Bg2 O-O O-O dxc4. Meanwhile, h3 appears in 1.1% of games (2.4K recorded, evaluated at +0.47, scoring 55.3%), typically continuing h3 Bg7 cxd5 exd5 Bf4 c6 to control key kingside squares before resolving the central tension.