Fianchetto

In chess the fianchetto (Italian: [fiaŋˈkɛtto] "little flank") is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward.

The fianchetto is a staple of many "hypermodern" openings, whose philosophy is to delay direct occupation of the center with the plan of undermining and destroying the opponent's central outpost. It also regularly occurs in Indian defences. The fianchetto is less common in open games (1.e4 e5) but the king's bishop is sometimes fianchettoed by Black in the Spanish Game or by White in an uncommon variation of the Vienna Game.