Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C57, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5. It is a line of the Italian Game. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 55,567 times by this move order. White won 53%, 3% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4… d5 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.19 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4… d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6)
- ECO
- C57
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p1N1/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 5 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 34,057 | |
| 1500-1999 | 18,082 | |
| 2000+ | 3,428 | |
| All | 55,567 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… d5 Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, Normal Variation | 41,891 (75%) | |
| 4… Bc5 Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack | 5,968 (11%) | |
| 4… Nxe4 Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit | 3,577 (6%) | |
| 4… Qe7 | 1,553 (3%) | |
| 4… h6 | 532 (1%) | |
| 4… d6 | 381 (1%) | |
| 4… Rg8 | 363 (1%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 340 (1%) |
Master games
65 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 85%, draw 3%, Black 12%). The strongest:
- IM David Gavrilescu (2476) – GM Aryan Tari (2618) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 24th Nov · 2020-11-24
- GM Daniel Alsina Leal (2516) – GM Lexy Ortega (2459) 1-0 · 52nd Italian Teams GpB · 2021-09-23
- Rafael Cabral De Souza (2156) – IM Herman C. Van Riemsdijk (2320) 0-1 · 3rd Floripa Open 2017 · 2017-01-25
- Maciej Jendrowiak (2171) – CM Tomas Andre (2111) 1/2-1/2 · exe Slovakia Open 2025 · 2025-09-20
- Garrett L Smith (2047) – Evan S Rosenberg (1982) 1-0 · Titled Tue 14th Mar Early · 2023-03-14
Search all games of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2860) – GM gmbrewchess (2979) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Nana_jede_cevape (2894) – NM Andrey11976 (2789) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- kuhmft (2844) – GM Niksss2023 (2827) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense (3. Bc4 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6
Continuations
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, Normal Variation C57 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit C57 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Nxe4
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack C57 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5
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.