Four Knights Game: Italian Variation, Noa Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Bxf7+
The Four Knights Game: Italian Variation, Noa Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C47, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Bxf7+. It is a line of the Four Knights Game. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,264 times by this move order. White won 45%, 3% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 5… Kxf7 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: −1.60 (Stockfish, depth 49; best line 5… Kxf7 6. Nxe4 d5 7. Ng3 e4 8. Ng1)
- ECO
- C47
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1Bpp/2n5/4p3/4n3/2N2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Bxf7+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 196 | |
| 1500-1999 | 903 | |
| 2000+ | 165 | |
| All | 1,264 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Kxf7 | 1,258 (100%) | |
| 5… Ke7 | 6 (0%) |
Master games
75 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 27%, draw 9%, Black 64%). The strongest:
- GM Etienne Bacrot (2669) – FM Attila Jr. Forgacs (2265) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Oct Late · 2023-10-03
- GM Mikhail Bryakin (2455) – FM Pablo Ollier (2353) 0-1 · Titled Tue 23rd May Late · 2023-05-23
- WIM Xeniya Balabayeva (2185) – IM Balazs Csonka (2496) 0-1 · Titled Tue 21st Feb Early · 2023-02-21
- Panagiotis Homatidis (2094) – GM Hrvoje Stevic (2587) 0-1 · European Rapid 2018 · 2018-12-08
- FM Peter Urbanc (2213) – FM Vid Dobrovoljc (2373) 0-1 · 30th ch-SLO 2020 · 2020-09-05
Search all games of the Four Knights Game: Italian Variation, Noa Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- laci2765 (2193) – Ulyanka (2520) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- jeje0407 (2221) – wealthtaxesuk (2386) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Iceman100 (2199) – CM vliegmachinist (2366) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (3… Nf6 4. Nc3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3
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: 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
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.