Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (4. Nc3 Nf6)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6
The Four Knights Game: Italian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C50, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6. It is a line of the Four Knights Game. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 12,196 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 5. d3 (62% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.09 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 h6 7. h3 a6)
- ECO
- C50
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/2b1p3/2B1P3/2N2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 6 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 7,003 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4,863 | |
| 2000+ | 330 | |
| All | 12,196 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. d3 | 7,569 (62%) | |
| 5. O-O | 2,067 (17%) | |
| 5. Ng5 | 828 (7%) | |
| 5. h3 | 800 (7%) | |
| 5. a3 | 265 (2%) | |
| 5. d4 | 165 (1%) | |
| 5. Nd5 | 141 (1%) | |
| 5. Nxe5 | 82 (1%) |
Master games
986 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 21%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2800) – GM Levon Aronian (2794) 1-0 · FIDE Candidates 2018 · 2018-03-22
- GM Vladimir Kramnik (2777) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2773) 0-1 · 81st Tata Steel GpA · 2019-01-19
- GM Pentala Harikrishna (2763) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2787) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com QF Blitz 3m+2spm 2016 · 2016-05-04
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2792) – GM Praggnanandhaa R (2750) 1-0 · GCT Finals 2026 · 2026-08-25
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2733) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2791) 1-0 · TCh-RUS Rapid 2017 · 2017-10-04
Search all games of the Four Knights Game: Italian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ReyConDamita (2739) – godlevelplayer (2643) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- IM DrBergerBerger (2549) – CogitoErgoVinco (2603) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- IM DrBergerBerger (2563) – Partizan100 (2547) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5
Continuations
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5. O-O O-O) C50 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O
More Four Knights Game lines (all)
- Four Knights Game C47
- Four Knights Game: Glek System (3… Nf6 4. g3) C47
- Four Knights Game: Glek System (6… Nxc3 7. bxc3) C47
- 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
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.