3...exd5

3...exd5

Just because a position is drawish doesn't mean it's an automatic draw. Korchnoi wrote

The open e-file foreshadows exchanges and a quick draw. This is what the authors of opening books assert. But there are few concrete variations to support this conclusion, and this is an important advantage in Black's favor. Modern opening theory helps the weak, strange as it may seem. One can learn and even understand a variation without having a high chess qualification, but true strength manifests itself itself in positions which have been studied little or not at all.

In playing 3.exd5, White, in contrast to the positions in fashionable variations, quickly moves away from the well-trodden paths. As early as the next few moves, he is forced to think for himself, and this, as is well known, is the most difficult.

Database statistics for the diagrammed position show a surprising result. Yes, the percentage of draws is high, approaching 50%. The surprise is with decisive games, where Black wins more often than White. In an open, symmetrical position we might expect White, who has the advantage of being on move, to score slightly more often than Black, but it is Black who scores more often.

The reason for this is partly because the players of the White pieces, who chose the exchange of Pawns on d5, are often weaker players than their opponents. As Korchnoi mentioned, 'true strength manifests itself itself in positions which have been studied little', whether those positions are drawish or not.

Next move: 4.Bd3