Italian Game: Two Knights Defense (5. Nxe4 d5)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d5
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C55, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d5. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3,441 times by this move order. White won 38%, 5% were drawn and Black won 57%. The most popular continuation is 6. Bxd5 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 57; best line 6. Bd3 dxe4 7. Bxe4 Bd6 8. O-O O-O)
- ECO
- C55
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/ppp2ppp/2n5/3pp3/2B1N3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQK2R w KQkq - 0 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,898 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,366 | |
| 2000+ | 177 | |
| All | 3,441 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. Bxd5 | 1,719 (50%) | |
| 6. Bd3 | 666 (19%) | |
| 6. Bb5 | 459 (13%) | |
| 6. Bb3 | 127 (4%) | |
| 6. Nxe5 | 109 (3%) | |
| 6. Qe2 | 64 (2%) | |
| 6. Nf6+ | 60 (2%) | |
| 6. d3 | 48 (1%) |
Master games
237 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 19%, draw 12%, Black 69%). The strongest:
- GM So, W. (2780) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2801) 0-1 · Saint Louis Rapid 2018 · 2018-08-11
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2757) – GM Martyn Kravtsiv (2598) 0-1 · Titled Tue 20th May Early · 2025-05-20
- GM Andrey Esipenko (2677) – GM Lucas Van Foreest (2522) 1/2-1/2 · Bundesliga 2024-25 · 2025-01-11
- GM Olexandr Bortnyk (2608) – GM Dambasuren Batsuren (2515) 1-0 · Titled Tue 5th Mar Late · 2024-03-05
- GM Pranesh M (2632) – IM Gleb Pidluznij (2401) 1-0 · Titled Tue 19th May 2026 · 2026-05-19
Search all games of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Dilnawazspeed99 (2597) – koshka_abbi (2503) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 600 + 0s
- Ardasamsulek1 (2389) – Castadiva (2425) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- Joppe (2409) – CM benammar (2395) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (3… Nf6 4. Nc3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3
More Italian Game lines (all)
- Italian Game C50
- Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense C50
- Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit C50
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Albin Gambit C50
- Italian Game: Deutz Gambit C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (3… Bc5 4. d3) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5… d6 6. d3) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5. O-O O-O) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5… O-O 6. d3) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Dubois Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation C50
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.