Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5
The Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C47, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5. 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 145 times by this move order. White won 58%, 3% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 5… Nxe5 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5… Qe7 6. Qd3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 Nxe4 8. Qe3)
- ECO
- C47
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4N3/1b1PP3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 46 | |
| 1500-1999 | 48 | |
| 2000+ | 51 | |
| All | 145 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Nxe5 | 57 (39%) | |
| 5… Nxe4 | 36 (25%) | |
| 5… Bxc3+ | 24 (17%) | |
| 5… Qe7 Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit, Leonhardt Defense | 21 (14%) | |
| 5… O-O | 5 (3%) | |
| 5… d6 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5… Nxd4 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
252 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 31%, draw 30%, Black 39%). The strongest:
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2691) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2759) 1-0 · FTX Road to Miami Prelim · 2022-07-13
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2709) – GM Naroditsky, D. (2621) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 23rd Feb · 2021-02-23
- GM David Paravyan (2586) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2741) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com SpeedChess Q1Sw · 2022-11-10
- GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2600) – GM M. Amin Tabatabaei (2714) 0-1 · Titled Tue 5th May 2026 · 2026-05-05
- GM Jeffery Xiong (2690) – GM Eltaj Safarli (2616) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 20th Sep Late · 2022-09-20
Search all games of the Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Alpha_777 (2797) – kuhmft (2848) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Kruciatos (2747) – Vahe_S (2742) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM beatles_21 (2762) – IM filolog (2702) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4
Continuations
- Four Knights Game: Scotch Variation, Krause Gambit, Leonhardt Defense C47 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 Bb4 5. Nxe5 Qe7
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 Accepted 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.