Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (3… d5 4. Nf3)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3
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. It is a line of the Grünfeld Defense. 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 2,712 times by this move order. White won 47%, 5% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bg7 (94% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.21 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4)
- ECO
- D90
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/5np1/3p4/2PP4/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 106 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,300 | |
| 2000+ | 1,306 | |
| All | 2,712 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bg7 Three Knights Variation (4. Nf3 Bg7) | 2,561 (94%) | |
| 4… dxc4 | 47 (2%) | |
| 4… c6 | 47 (2%) | |
| 4… Bg4 | 27 (1%) | |
| 4… c5 | 15 (1%) | |
| 4… a6 | 6 (0%) | |
| 4… e6 | 4 (0%) | |
| 4… Ng8 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
35 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 54%, draw 20%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- IM Mihnea Costachi (2471) – GM Andres Carlos Obregon (2525) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 12th Oct · 2021-10-12
- GM Naumkin, I. (2460) – GM Joseph Sanchez (2529) 1/2-1/2 · 34th Crespi Trophy 2013 · 2013-12-07
- IM Eylon Nakar (2479) – FM Jiri Rydl (2427) 1/2-1/2 · 26th Czech Rapid G1 2015 · 2015-07-22
- GM Pavel V. Tregubov (2578) – Sergey Jary (2297) 1-0 · TCh-RUS Major League 2018 · 2018-05-10
- FM Alexandros Papasimakopoulos (2403) – IM Martin Bruedigam (2379) 1-0 · Titled Tue 11th Jul Early · 2023-07-11
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 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5
Continuations
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation (4. Nf3 Bg7) D90 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7
More Grünfeld Defense lines (all)
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch A56
- 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
- Grünfeld Defense: Brinckmann Attack, Grünfeld Gambit, Capablanca 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.