White has the choice between closing the centre or to maintain the central tension.
The early clarification of the central tension gives White too free a hand and the line is rarely seen in modern practice.
It was difficult for Short to avoid playing 25 e4; he certainly could not resolve the central tension with 25 ed?
His ambivalent character is a vehicle for the novel's central tension - between private conscience and public display.
White must not prematurely dissolve the central tension in this variation because all chance for advantage will go with it.
The central tension revolves around sexuality, sexual history, and evolving friendships.
The most common Black response is 3... exd4 which relieves the central tension, though it gives up the centre.
But there is a third choice, 8 Be3, which aims to maintain the central tension and thus make it difficult for Black to counterattack.
In this line, White forgoes the fianchetto, with its direct play against d5, opting to keep central tension for the moment by playing 4.
The central tension of the game comes from making trade offs.
