Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Janowski Variation
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
The Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Janowski 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 7. bxc3 d6 8. Re1. 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 6 times by this move order. White won 50%, 17% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 8… Ne7 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.04 (Stockfish, depth 34; best line 8… a6 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. h3 Nd7 11. Nh2)
- ECO
- C49
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/1B2p3/4P3/2PP1N2/P1P2PPP/R1BQR1K1 b - - 1 8- PGN
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
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… Ne7 | 3 (50%) | |
| 8… h6 | 3 (50%) |
Master games
143 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 23%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2750) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 5m+2spm 2017 · 2017-11-21
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2795) – GM Peter Leko (2731) 1/2-1/2 · Tal Memorial Blitz 2014 · 2014-11-13
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2772) – GM Hao Wang (2709) 1-0 · 2nd IMSA Basque 2017 · 2017-12-15
- GM Emil Sutovsky (2671) – GM Gata Kamsky (2741) 1/2-1/2 · 20th TCh-RUS 2013 · 2013-04-13
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2644) – GM Evgeny Tomashevsky (2718) 1/2-1/2 · 28th TCh-CRO Div 1a 2019 · 2019-09-30
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nenidon_Andriy (2511) – juvefun (2492) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- joker-23 (2476) – AMMAR_SHAABAN (2513) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Secret_players (2367) – mightysonce (2415) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
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
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.