Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation Accepted
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Nxd4
The Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation Accepted is a chess opening classified as ECO C48, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Nxd4. 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 489 times by this move order. White won 45%, 3% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 5… exd4 (99% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.03 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 5… exd4 6. e5 dxc3 7. exf6 Qxf6 8. dxc3)
- ECO
- C48
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/1B2p3/3NP3/2N5/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Nxd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 307 | |
| 1500-1999 | 112 | |
| 2000+ | 70 | |
| All | 489 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… exd4 | 486 (99%) | |
| 5… c6 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5… Bc5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
482 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 21%, draw 53%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2843) – GM Liren Ding (2778) 1/2-1/2 · Vugar Gashimov Mem 2018 · 2018-04-28
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2791) – GM Levon Aronian (2782) 1/2-1/2 · Lindores Abbey Tal Mem · 2021-11-08
- GM Anish Giri (2772) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2792) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Rapid Wk1 Swiss · 2022-02-12
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2781) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2773) 1/2-1/2 · Chess.com Rapid Wk4 Swiss · 2022-03-05
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) – GM Praggnanandhaa R (2690) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2023 · 2023-08-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Tsoi_Dima (2841) – Kruciatos (2774) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM Tsoi_Dima (2843) – Kruciatos (2772) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- MASHUK777 (2760) – LATRANCA (2740) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation (4. Bb5 Nd4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4
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.