The Four Knights Game is a

chess opening The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...

that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Nc3 Nf6 This is the most common sequence, but the

knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

may in any order to reach the same position. The Four Knights usually leads to quiet , though there are also some variations. The opening is fairly popular with beginners who strictly adhere to the opening principle: "Develop knights before

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

." One of its practical advantages is that it can be played in response to the

Petrov's Defense Petrov's Defence or the Petrov Defence (also called Petroff Defence, Petrov's Game, Russian Defence, or Russian Game ">/nowiki> is a chess opening characterised by the following moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nf6 Though this response has a long ...

: after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3, Black's best move is 3...Nc6. The Four Knights was one of the workhorses in the family of the

Open Game An Open Game (or Double King's Pawn Opening) is a generic term for a family of chess openings beginning with the moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5, e5 White has moved the king's pawn two squares and Bl ...

, at even the highest levels, until World War I. Thereafter it fell by the wayside, along with several other Open Games. In this period ambitious players explored the

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez remains one of the most popular chess openings, featuring many variations. In ...

, believing it a better attempt by

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

to exploit the advantage of the first move. In the 1990s, this opening saw a renaissance and is now seen in the

praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion *Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised * Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...

of players from beginner to grandmaster.

Variations

Spanish Variation: 4.Bb5

White's most common move is 4.Bb5, the Spanish Variation. This variation can also be reached from the Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence. After 4.Bb5,

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

has four major alternatives. * The first of these is 4...Bb4, the Symmetrical Variation known as the Double Spanish Variation. * Black can play more aggressively by 4...Nd4, the

Rubinstein Rubinstein is a surname of Ashkenazi Jews. It comes from German and Yiddish, where it means "ruby-stone". Notable persons named Rubinstein include: A–E * Akiba Rubinstein (1880–1961), Polish chess grandmaster * Amnon Rubinstein (1931-2024), I ...

Variation. White cannot win a

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pa ...

with 5.Nxe5, since Black regains the pawn with the advantage of the after 5...Qe7 6.Nf3 (6.f4 Nxb5 7.Nxb5 d6) Nxb5 7.Nxb5 Qxe4+ 8.Qe2 Qxe2+ 9.Kxe2 Nd5 10.c4 a6 White most often plays 5.Ba4, when Black usually continues in

gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

fashion with 5...Bc5 6.Nxe5 0-0 7.Nd3 Bb6 8.e5 Ne8 followed by ...d6. Another line, which discourages many ambitious Black players from playing the Rubinstein, is 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.e5 dxc3 7.exf6 Qxf6 (7...cxd2+ 8.Bxd2 Qxf6 9.0-0 is dangerous for Black) 8.dxc3 Qe5+. This often leads to a quick draw after 9.Qe2 Qxe2+. * The classical move 4...Bc5 is perfectly , see the famous game

Louis Paulsen Louis Paulsen (15 January 1833 in Gut Nassengrund near Blomberg, Principality of Lippe – 18 August 1891) was a German chess player. In the 1860s and 1870s, he was among the top players in the world. He was a younger brother of Wilfried Pa ...

–

Paul Morphy Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s, Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master. A prodigy, Morphy emerged onto the chess scene in 1857 ...

from the First American Chess Congress (1857). * In recent years, Black has tried 4...Bd6!? with varying results. That move takes the sting out of 5.Bxc6, which is met with 5...dxc6 with a good game. If White plays , Black will regroup with ...0-0, ...Re8, ...Bf8, and ...d6.

Scotch Four Knights Game: 4.d4

If White plays 4.d4, the Scotch Four Knights Game arises. This leads to a more , which can also be reached from the

Scotch Game The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On ...

, e.g. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3. This variation was played in the fifth game of the 1996

Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov Garry Kasparov, then-world chess champion, world champion in chess, played a pair of six-game matches against Deep Blue (chess computer), Deep Blue, a supercomputer by IBM. Kasparov won the first match, held in Philadelphia in 1996, by 4–2. D ...

match. One reason White may choose the Four Knights move order (3.Nc3) over the

(3.d4), besides fearing that after 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Black may choose 4...Bc5 or 4...Qh4, is that White may want to play the Belgrade Gambit (3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5!?). It is not possible to reach the Belgrade from the Scotch Game; however, the Belgrade is a distant second in popularity to 5.Nxd4.

Italian Four Knights Game: 4.Bc4

A further possibility is 4.Bc4, the Italian Four Knights Game, or Prussian Four Knights Game, popular in the 1880s, though this line is regarded as inferior according to Pinski, and an outright mistake by

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

Larry D. Evans. Black can preserve the symmetry by 4...Bc5, leading to the quiet

Giuoco Pianissimo The (; )Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 153. ''Giuoco Piano''. "The name means 'quiet game' and until the 19th century was often applied to any opening that was not a gambit." is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. ...

. A better move order for White that leads to this position is via the

Giuoco Piano The (; )Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 153. ''Giuoco Piano''. "The name means 'quiet game' and until the 19th century was often applied to any opening that was not a gambit." is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. ...

by 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 Nf6. The line is a favourite among younger players due to its simple and easy development but was also used successfully by

Nigel Short Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, columnist, coach and commentator who has been the FIDE Director for Chess Development since September 2022. Short earned the title of grandmaster at the ...

against

Antoaneta Stefanova Antoaneta Stefanova (; born 19 April 1979) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and Women's World Champion from 2004 to 2006. She has represented Bulgaria in the Chess Olympiad in 2000 and the Women's Chess Olympiad since 1992. Early life and ca ...

. The problem with playing for this position via the Four Knights Game is that after 4.Bc4, Black can perform the center fork trick by pseudo-

sacrificing Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks ...

a knight with 4...Nxe4!. Then 5.Bxf7+?, though superficially attractive, relinquishes the bishop pair and central control to Black. After 5...Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Neg5+ Kg8, Black is already threatening 8...e4, and after 8.d3 h6 9.Nh3 Bg4, Black has a very powerful position, with an unopposed light-squared bishop, a strong duo of pawns in the centre, and a safe king, while White needs to work out how to get the displaced knight on h3 into play; often it will need to be played back to g1. Rather than 5.Bxf7+?, a better chance for White to play for is 5.Nxe4, even though 5...d5 regains the piece with a good game, e.g., 6.Bd3 (6.Bxd5? Qxd5 7.Nc3 Qd8 Estrin; 6.Bb5 dxe4 7.Nxe5 Qg5! Collijn's '' Lärobok''; 6.d4 dxc4 7.d5 Ne7 8.Nc3 c6 Cordel–Schupli, 1905) 6...dxe4 (the recently discovered 6...Nb4 is also playable) 7.Bxe4 Bd6 8.d4 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Qxd4 0-0 11.Be3 (11.0-0 Bxh2+ wins) Qe7 (Tartakower–Atkins, London 1922) and now the natural 12.0-0 Be5 would be awkward for White. In the above line, more ambitious is 8...exd4 9.Nxd4 0-0!?, as in a match game between

Siegbert Tarrasch Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century. Life Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...

and

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher. He was the second World Chess Champion, holding the title for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially ...

in 1916, which led to a Black win in 23 moves. Another try is 5.0-0!? transposing to a variation of the

Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit Petrov's Defence or the Petrov Defence (also called Petroff Defence, Petrov's Game, Russian Defence, or Russian Game ">/nowiki> is a chess opening characterised by the following moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nf6 Though this response has a long ...

4.g3

Igor Glek Igor Vladimirovich Glek (; born 7 November 1961) is a Russian chess player, trainer, writer and theorist. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990. Biography Glek was born in Moscow. Completing his University of Moscow engineeri ...

has favoured 4.g3, preparing development of the bishop to g2. According to Pinski, Black's main responses are 4...Bc5 and 4...d5, both of which are reckoned to equalize for Black. A Halloween Gambit style 4...Nxe4 has also been tried at the grandmaster level as in two games between

Ilya Smirin Ilya (or Ilia) Smirin (; ; ; born January 21, 1968) is a Belarusian-Israeli chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990. Champion of Israel in 1992, 2002 and 2023. Chess career Born in Vitebsk, Smirin's chess career b ...

and

Bartłomiej Macieja Bartłomiej (Bartek) Macieja (born 4 October 1977) is a Polish chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster (GM). He is married to Mexican chess master Alejandra Guerrero Rodríguez. He currently serves as the head ...

4.Be2

Though rarely seen, this move is playable. For example, if Black plays 4...Bb4, White has the responses 5.Nd5, 5.0-0, and 5.d3, which retain equality with accurate play.

Gunsberg Variation: 4.a3

The quiet 4.a3, the Gunsberg Variation, is a specialty of Polish grandmaster

Paweł Blehm Paweł Blehm (born 17 April 1980 in Olkusz) is a Polish chess grandmaster (2001). He took part in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, but was knocked out in the first round by Smbat Lputian. He played for Poland in the Chess Olympiad of 200 ...

Halloween Gambit: 4.Nxe5

A dubious

is 4.Nxe5?!, the so-called

Halloween Gambit The Halloween Gambit (also known as the Müller–Schulze Gambit or Leipzig Gambit) is an aggressive chess opening gambit in which White sacrifices a knight early on for a single pawn. The opening is an offshoot of the normally staid Four Knights ...

. After 4...Nxe5 5.d4, White tries to seize the centre with his pawns and drive the black knights back to their home squares. Grandmaster

Larry Kaufman Lawrence Charles Kaufman (born November 15, 1947) is an American chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE for winning the 2008 World Seniors Championship (which he later retroactively shared with Mihai Suba). Kaufman had been ...

says that this line is refuted by 5...Nc6 6.d5 Bb4! 7.dxc6 Nxe4 8.Qd4 Qe7, which he attributes to Jan Pinski. According to

Max Euwe Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 ...

's opening series volume 11, Black has a decisive advantage after 5...Ng6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Bc4 d5 8.Bxd5 c6.A Breeze in the sleepy Four Knight's Game
/ref>

''ECO''

The ''

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings The ''Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings'' (''ECO'') is a reference work describing the state of Chess theory#Opening theory, opening theory in chess, originally published in five volumes from 1974 to 1979 by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugos ...

'' has three codes for the Four Knights Game: * C49: 4.Bb5 Bb4 (Symmetrical Variation) * C48: 4.Bb5 without 4...Bb4 * C47: 4.d4 and others

References

Bibliography * * *

External links

Tim Krabbé's article on the Halloween Gambit
* by Paul Keiser {{Chess Chess openings