Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (3… Nf6 4. Nc3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3
The Four Knights Game: Italian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C47, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3. It is a line of the Four Knights Game. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 32,507 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bc5 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 70; best line 4… Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d5 6. Bd3 dxe4 7. Bxe4)
- ECO
- C47
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/2B1P3/2N2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 5 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 20,780 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10,912 | |
| 2000+ | 815 | |
| All | 32,507 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bc5 | 13,747 (42%) | |
| 4… Nxe4 | 5,257 (16%) | |
| 4… Bb4 | 4,449 (14%) | |
| 4… d6 | 2,452 (8%) | |
| 4… h6 | 2,098 (6%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 1,854 (6%) | |
| 4… d5 | 762 (2%) | |
| 4… a6 | 523 (2%) |
Master games
628 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 13%, Black 48%). The strongest:
- GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2600) – GM Quang Liem Le (2729) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th Oct 2025 · 2025-10-14
- GM Boris Savchenko (2552) – GM Grigoriy Oparin (2652) 1-0 · Titled Arena Jan 2nd 2021 · 2021-01-02
- GM Davit Benidze (2515) – IM Mert Yilmazyerli (2459) 1/2-1/2 · 6th MTS Logistics 2017 · 2017-07-07
- CM Georgijs Germanovs (2255) – GM Alexey Sarana (2689) 0-1 · Titled Tue 4th Mar Early · 2025-03-04
- Wilko Stubbe (2218) – GM Michael Adams (2693) 0-1 · German Club Cup Final · 2019-05-18
Search all games of the Four Knights Game: Italian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM shuriks91 (2852) – GM jncool68 (2716) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM shuriks91 (2850) – HighQualityO (2702) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- IM shuriks91 (2806) – July16Q (2687) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense (3. Bc4 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6
Continuations
- Four Knights Game: Italian Variation, Noa Gambit C47 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Bxf7+
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense (5. Nxe4 d5) C55 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d5
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.