English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation (3. Nf3 Nc6)
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A28, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6. It is a line of the English Opening. White is to move. 7 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3,120 times by this move order. White won 53%, 4% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 4. g3 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.14 (Stockfish, depth 54; best line 4. e4 Bb4 5. d3 d6 6. a3 Bc5)
- ECO
- A28
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/2P5/2N2N2/PP1PPPPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 4 4- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 539 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,503 | |
| 2000+ | 1,078 | |
| All | 3,120 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. g3 King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line (3… Nc6 4. g3) | 1,041 (33%) | |
| 4. e3 King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line (3… Nc6 4. e3) | 852 (27%) | |
| 4. d4 | 403 (13%) | |
| 4. e4 Four Knights System, Nimzowitsch Variation | 398 (13%) | |
| 4. d3 King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Flexible Line | 277 (9%) | |
| 4. a3 King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Korchnoi Line | 107 (3%) | |
| 4. b3 | 14 (0%) | |
| 4. Nd5 | 7 (0%) |
Master games
313 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 26%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Anish Giri (2764) 1/2-1/2 · Chessable Masters Final 8 · 2020-06-30
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784) – GM Anish Giri (2764) 1/2-1/2 · Chessable Masters Final 8 · 2020-06-30
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2728) – GM Samuel Sevian (2696) 0-1 · FIDE World Rapid Team · 2026-06-19
- GM Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (2617) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2777) 1/2-1/2 · Julius Baer Play-In Match · 2023-08-20
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2742) – GM Mustafa Yilmaz (2639) 1-0 · TCh-TUR Super League 2023 · 2023-07-12
Highest-rated Lichess games
- slouuurps (2747) – IM ARM__55555 (2869) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2855) – Tempstream (2740) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2807) – NM MMM_Zhukovskiy (2689) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6
Continuations
- English Opening: Four Knights System, Nimzowitsch Variation A28 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line (3… Nc6 4. g3) A29 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Flexible Line A28 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Korchnoi Line A28 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line (3… Nc6 4. e3) A28 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Bradley Beach Variation A28 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 e4
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation (8. bxc3 Ne5) A28 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Ne5
More English Opening lines (all)
- English Opening A10
- English Opening: Achilles-Omega Gambit A10
- English Opening: Adorjan Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense, Hickmann Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Chabanon Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Ferenc Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Lithuanian Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Löhn Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Malvinas Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Schulz Gambit A10
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.