Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation (6. d3 Bxc3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Bxc3
The Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C49, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Bxc3. It is a line of the Four Knights Game. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 34 times by this move order. White won 41%, 15% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 7. bxc3 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.08 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 7. bxc3 d6 8. Re1 a6 9. Bxc6 bxc6)
- ECO
- C49
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/1B2p3/4P3/2bP1N2/PPP2PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Bxc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 27 | |
| All | 34 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. bxc3 | 34 (100%) |
Master games
489 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 35%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- Reckless 0.10.0-dev-b5462f11 (3763) – Stockfish dev-20260318-d173a06 (3807) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Superfinal 2026 · 2026-04-08
- Stockfish dev-20260318-d173a06 (3807) – Reckless 0.10.0-dev-b5462f11 (3763) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Superfinal 2026 · 2026-04-08
- Stockfishdev-20250802-a37b38bd (3731) – Berserk20250622 (3650) 1-0 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-23
- Berserk20250622 (3650) – Stockfishdev-20250802-a37b38bd (3731) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-23
- Obsidiandev-16.14 (3645) – LCZero0.31-dag-4d98c58-BT5-3700000 (3692) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-23
Search all games of the Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TregubenkoKolya_2010 (2608) – DikiyDjo (2661) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM AkibaGonzalez (2530) – PawnsTractorist (2577) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- SolaceOfNight (2535) – IM Joker123chemp (2475) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish (5… O-O 6. d3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3
Continuations
- Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Svenonius Variation C49 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Bxc3 7. bxc3 d5
- Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Janowski Variation C49 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Bxc3 7. bxc3 d6 8. Re1
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.