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Four Knights Game
The Four Knights Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
This is the most common sequence, but the knights may develop in any order to reach the same position, but it is also frequently reached by transposition after other developing moves have been played, most notably from the Scotch Game (3.d4) after 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 (the main alternative to 5.e5). The most common continuations are 4.Bb5, the Spanish Variation, and 4.d4, the Scotch Variation.
The Four Knights often leads to quiet positional play and has a drawish reputation, though there are also sharp variations. The opening is fairly popular with beginners who strictly adhere to the opening principle: "Develop knights before bishops." One of its practical advantages is that it can be played to avoid the theoretical lines of Petrov's Defence: after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3, Black's best move is 3...Nc6.
The Four Knights was a popular choice in the family of the Open Game in the 19th century. By the time of World War I, it had fallen in popularity. Ambitious players explored alternatives like the Ruy Lopez, which was believed to be a better attempt by White to exploit the advantage of the first move. In the 1990s, the opening saw a renaissance and is again frequently seen in the opening repertoire of players, even among grandmasters.
A frequent theme is a series of exchanges on an open file. Examined in this article are the following common variations:
This move results in a position similar to the Ruy Lopez but with knights on c3 and f6.
Black's most common move is the symmetrical 4...Bb4 (the Double Spanish Variation). In the vast majority of games, kingside castling (5.0-0 0-0) occurs on the fifth move for both White and Black. In most of the rest, it occurs soon after and transposes to one of the known variations. Following castling, the most common continuations are 6.d3 d6, 6.d3 Bxc3 7.bxc3, 6.Bxc6 dxc6, and 6.Nd5.
A common alternative for Black is the unbalancing 4...Nd4, the Rubinstein Variation or Rubinstein Countergambit.
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Four Knights Game
The Four Knights Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
This is the most common sequence, but the knights may develop in any order to reach the same position, but it is also frequently reached by transposition after other developing moves have been played, most notably from the Scotch Game (3.d4) after 3...exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 (the main alternative to 5.e5). The most common continuations are 4.Bb5, the Spanish Variation, and 4.d4, the Scotch Variation.
The Four Knights often leads to quiet positional play and has a drawish reputation, though there are also sharp variations. The opening is fairly popular with beginners who strictly adhere to the opening principle: "Develop knights before bishops." One of its practical advantages is that it can be played to avoid the theoretical lines of Petrov's Defence: after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3, Black's best move is 3...Nc6.
The Four Knights was a popular choice in the family of the Open Game in the 19th century. By the time of World War I, it had fallen in popularity. Ambitious players explored alternatives like the Ruy Lopez, which was believed to be a better attempt by White to exploit the advantage of the first move. In the 1990s, the opening saw a renaissance and is again frequently seen in the opening repertoire of players, even among grandmasters.
A frequent theme is a series of exchanges on an open file. Examined in this article are the following common variations:
This move results in a position similar to the Ruy Lopez but with knights on c3 and f6.
Black's most common move is the symmetrical 4...Bb4 (the Double Spanish Variation). In the vast majority of games, kingside castling (5.0-0 0-0) occurs on the fifth move for both White and Black. In most of the rest, it occurs soon after and transposes to one of the known variations. Following castling, the most common continuations are 6.d3 d6, 6.d3 Bxc3 7.bxc3, 6.Bxc6 dxc6, and 6.Nd5.
A common alternative for Black is the unbalancing 4...Nd4, the Rubinstein Variation or Rubinstein Countergambit.