A natural move, after all the h5-bishop may have some problems with the g4-advance or an attack with the knight. White's surprising next move, however, guarantees an advantage. The alternatives 8...Nc6 and 8...e6 are better.
1. e2e4  1... c7c6  2. d2d4  2... d7d5  3. e4d5 When Bobby Fischer played this variation, no one paid much attention to it, but it looks like he was many years ahead of his time. Check the wonderful game Fischer vs. Petrosian, Belgrade 1970. 3... c6d5  4. f1d3  4... g8f6  5. c2c3  5... c8g4  6. d1b3  6... d8c7 A natural move, although the queen will have some problems on that square, as we will see later. 7. h2h3  7... g4h5 A pawn sacrifice. 8. g1e2 So decides to play solid.