Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation, American Attack
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. Nd6+
The Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation, American Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO B45, reached after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. Nd6+. It is a line of the Sicilian Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 7 times by this move order. White won 29%, 28% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 7… Ke7 (57% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.09 (Stockfish, depth 45; best line 7… Ke7 8. Nxc8+ Rxc8 9. Bd3 Re8 10. O-O)
- ECO
- B45
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pp1p1ppp/2nNpn2/8/1b2P3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 6 7- PGN
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. Nd6+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 7 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Ke7 | 4 (57%) | |
| 7… Bxd6 | 3 (43%) |
Master games
5 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 0%, draw 20%, Black 80%). The strongest:
- WFM Alena Nikulina (1875) – FM Dinesh Rajan M (2349) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thursday Nov 13th 2025 · 2025-11-13
- FM Sreyas Payyappat (2084) – CM Michal Provaznik (2081) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th Aug Early · 2024-08-06
- Edoardo Giannone (1858) – Luca D`antrassi (1729) 1/2-1/2 · 47th Arco Open 2025 · 2025-10-10
- Xinyang Li (1400) – Jingyi Zhou (1630) 0-1 · CHN League Women 2019 · 2019-06-25
Highest-rated Lichess games
- AsinoVolantee (2112) – WellingtonJ (2116) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Bundy21 (1973) – ClubTravel (2043) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 600 + 5s
- usmanahmad (2045) – pravafenix (1886) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6
More Sicilian Defense lines (all)
- Sicilian Defense (1. e4 c5) B20
- Sicilian Defense: Amazon Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Big Clamp Formation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Bowdler Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Brick Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack B20
- Sicilian Defense: Czerniak Attack, Queen Fianchetto Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Euwe Attack, Prins Gambit B20
- Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Grob Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: Keres Variation B20
- Sicilian Defense: King David's Opening B20
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.