Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit, Leonhardt Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5 Qe7
The Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit, Leonhardt Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C47, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5 Qe7. It is a line of the Four Knights Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 21 times by this move order. White won 19%, 10% were drawn and Black won 71%. The most popular continuation is 6. Nxc6 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.31 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 6. Qd3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 Nxe4 8. Qe3 Nd6)
- ECO
- C47
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1b1k2r/ppppqppp/2n2n2/4N3/1b1PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5 Qe7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 17 | |
| All | 21 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Nxc6 | 10 (48%) | |
| 6. Qd3 | 8 (38%) | |
| 6. f3 | 1 (5%) | |
| 6. Nd3 | 1 (5%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 1 (5%) |
Master games
210 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 24%, draw 35%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2750) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764) 1-0 · Saint Louis Blitz 2019 · 2019-08-13
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2692) – GM Gata Kamsky (2665) 0-1 · Titled Tue 11th Apr Early · 2023-04-11
- GM Mariya Muzychuk (2536) – GM Andrey Esipenko (2713) 0-1 · Lindores Abbey Tal Mem · 2021-11-08
- GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2632) – GM Tuan Minh Le (2598) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 20th May Early · 2025-05-20
- GM Bharath Subramaniyam H (2566) – GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (2655) 1/2-1/2 · 30th Abu Dhabi Masters · 2024-08-20
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Alpha_777 (2797) – kuhmft (2848) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM beatles_21 (2762) – IM filolog (2702) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- chessgrandfather1975 (2590) – Hercule_Poirot-20 (2687) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5
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.