Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (4. Nf3 Bg7)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7
The Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO D90, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7. It is a line of the Grünfeld Defense. White is to move. 5 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,561 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bg5 (30% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 a6)
- ECO
- D90
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/ppp1ppbp/5np1/3p4/2PP4/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 86 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,196 | |
| 2000+ | 1,279 | |
| All | 2,561 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bg5 Three Knights Variation, Petrosian System | 761 (30%) | |
| 5. Bf4 Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Attack | 435 (17%) | |
| 5. e3 Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation | 411 (16%) | |
| 5. Qb3 Russian Variation (4… Bg7 5. Qb3) | 330 (13%) | |
| 5. cxd5 | 271 (11%) | |
| 5. g3 | 161 (6%) | |
| 5. h4 | 72 (3%) | |
| 5. h3 | 70 (3%) |
Master games
2,743 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 28%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- Berserk 20250622 (3667) – PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-15
- PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) – Berserk 20250622 (3667) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-13
- Stockfish dev-20240728-2343f71 (3662) – LCZero 0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-61 (3631) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Balanced Lines · 2024-08-03
- Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) – Igel 3.5.5 (3502) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
- Igel 3.5.5 (3502) – Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
Search all games of the Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Chess1Love0 (2825) – Sunrise34 (2850) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Chess1Love0 (2806) – kuhmft (2833) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM Unicorn7Love (2937) – NM Horobetz (2612) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 480 + 0s
Comes from
Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (3… d5 4. Nf3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3
Continuations
- Grünfeld Defense: Flohr Variation D90 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qa4+
- Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation (4… Bg7 5. Qb3) D96 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation D94 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e3
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Hungarian Attack D92 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bf4
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Petrosian System D91 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5
More Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch A56
- Grünfeld Defense D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Gibbon Gambit D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lundin Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Lutikov Variation, Murrey Attack D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Stockholm Variation D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Zaitsev Gambit D80
- Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Accelerated Variation D81
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack D82
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit D83
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit, Botvinnik Variation D83
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.