Queen's Pawn Game: Mason Attack: what to play after d4?

In the Queen's Pawn Game: Mason Attack (ECO D00), Black faces an early push of White's f-pawn and achieves optimal counterplay by striking immediately at the center with c5. This counterthrust challenges White's central pawn on d4 before White can solidify the position, offering Black a slight engine preference evaluated at -0.54. Although chosen in 16.8% of recorded games (464K recorded), it provides a dynamic alternative to more passive development.

Countering White's Center with c5

The central break c5 immediately questions the stability of White's setup. White scores 50.8% from this position, the lowest scoring rate among Black's top three responses. In the engine main line c5 dxc5 e6 Be3 Nf6 Nf3, Black prepares to recapture on c5 with the bishop while developing the minor pieces naturally to contest key central squares.

Popular Developing Alternatives

The most frequent human choice is Nf6, played in 45.4% of games (1.26M recorded) with an evaluation of -0.48, where White scores 52.5%. This move often leads to Nf6 e3 Bf5 c4 e6 cxd5, bringing the game toward typical Queen's Pawn structures. Another solid pathway is Bf5, seen in 33.8% of games (934K recorded) with an evaluation of -0.49, which develops the light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain prior to playing Bf5 c4 e6 e3 c5 Nf3.

Kingside Fianchetto and Flank Options

A less common setup involves g6, occurring in 3.9% of games (109K recorded) with an evaluation of -0.35, where White scores 50.5%. The engine continuation g6 Nf3 Bg7 e3 c5 Bb5+ illustrates Black adopting a kingside fianchetto to control the long diagonal. The engine also notes a6 (-0.32), followed by a6 e3 Nf6 Nf3 Bf5 c4, which restrains White's queenside piece activity before completing development.