Four Knights Game: Glek System (3… Nf6 4. g3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3
The Four Knights Game: Glek System is a chess opening classified as ECO C47, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3. It is a line of the Four Knights Game. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 830 times by this move order. White won 46%, 5% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bc5 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.07 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… Bc5 5. Bg2 d6 6. d3 a5 7. O-O)
- ECO
- C47
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/4P3/2N2NP1/PPPP1P1P/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 405 | |
| 1500-1999 | 258 | |
| 2000+ | 167 | |
| All | 830 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bc5 | 358 (43%) | |
| 4… Bb4 | 157 (19%) | |
| 4… d5 | 118 (14%) | |
| 4… d6 | 84 (10%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 30 (4%) | |
| 4… g6 | 26 (3%) | |
| 4… h6 | 17 (2%) | |
| 4… Nxe4 | 11 (1%) |
Master games
935 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 22%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) – GM Daniil Dubov (2702) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd Aug Late · 2022-08-23
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2792) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2710) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 9th Jul 2026 · 2026-07-09
- GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (2716) – GM Vladimir Kramnik (2753) 0-1 · Crocus City Stars Blitz · 2022-10-05
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2792) – GM V Pranav (2666) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 23rd Jul 2026 · 2026-07-23
- GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (2716) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2740) 0-1 · 8th Gashimov Mem Blitz · 2022-12-23
Search all games of the Four Knights Game: Glek System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- BadApp_le (2613) – DikiyDjo (2700) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- PawnsTractorist (2579) – IM roggefeller (2732) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- PawnsTractorist (2585) – Hercule_Poirot-20 (2722) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6
Continuations
- Four Knights Game: Glek System (6… Nxc3 7. bxc3) C47 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nxc3 7. bxc3
More Four Knights Game lines (all)
- Four Knights Game: Gunsberg Variation C47
- Four Knights Game: Gunsberg Variation, Provincial Opening C47
- Four Knights Game: Halloween Gambit C47
- Four Knights Game: Halloween Gambit, Oldtimer Variation C47
- Four Knights Game: Halloween Gambit, Plasma Variation C47
- Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (3… Nf6 4. Nc3) C47
- Four Knights Game: Italian Variation, Noa Gambit C47
- Four Knights Game: Naroditsky Variation C47
- Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation C47
- Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation Accepted C47
- Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation Accepted, Main Line C47
- Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Belgrade Gambit C47
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.