Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation (4… Nd4 5. Be2)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Be2
The Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C48, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Be2. 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 23 times by this move order. White won 52%, 9% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 5… Nxe2 (30% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.11 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 5… d6 6. O-O c6 7. d3 Nxe2+ 8. Qxe2)
- ECO
- C48
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/3nP3/2N2N2/PPPPBPPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 7 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Be2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 12 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 23 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Nxe2 | 7 (30%) | |
| 5… Nxf3+ | 4 (17%) | |
| 5… d6 | 3 (13%) | |
| 5… Bc5 | 2 (9%) | |
| 5… c6 | 2 (9%) | |
| 5… Bd6 | 1 (4%) | |
| 5… Nc6 | 1 (4%) | |
| 5… a6 | 1 (4%) |
Master games
28 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 57%, draw 22%, Black 21%). The strongest:
- GM Praggnanandhaa R (2735) – GM Vincent Keymer (2767) 1-0 · GCT Super Rapid Croatia · 2026-07-01
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2677) – GM Javokhir Sindarov (2777) 0-1 · Naroditsky Mem Rapid TB · 2026-07-03
- GM Murali Karthikeyan (2669) – GM Aleksandar Indjic (2650) 1-0 · TCh-SRB Premier 2025 · 2025-09-25
- GM Victor Bologan (2585) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2732) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 20th Feb Early · 2024-02-20
- GM Yasser Quesada Perez (2562) – GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2738) 1-0 · American Cup Blitz 2026 · 2026-03-02
Highest-rated Lichess games
- asxetos123 (2237) – vasa1973 (2242) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- robertarmes (2177) – SS_D06 (2256) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 3s
- DELTA2030 (2211) – ARAxMHA (2086) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 5s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation (4. Bb5 Nd4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4
Continuations
- Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation, Maróczy Variation C48 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Be2 Nxf3+ 6. Bxf3 Bc5 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 d6 9. Na4 Bb6
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.