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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6

< Chess Opening Theory | 1. e4 | 1...e5 | 2. Nf3


King's Knight Opening
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black knightd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 white knightg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 black kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 white kingf1 white bishopg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p3/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w

Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
Responses:

2...Nc6 - King's Knight Opening

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2...Nc6 is the natural move, combining defence of the pawn with control of the d4 square and avoiding committing another pawn for now.

White's responses

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White has multiple choices here which can lead to very different games.

  • 3. Bb5 is the most played. White puts pressure on the knight defending the pawn.
  • 3. Bc4 is quieter. Instead of attacking the knight, White chooses to target the weak f7 pawn.
  • 3. d4 is aggressive. Subsequent play may result in a very open game.
  • 3. Nc3 is the quietest common continuation.
  • 3. c3, the Ponziani opening, opens the white diagonal for the queen, allows for an eventual d4 pawn push, and controls d4 and b4 (possible plants by the black knight) at the expense of hemming in the knight.

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. Bb5   (Ruy Lopez)
a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. Bc4   (Italian)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. d4   (Scotch)
a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. Nc3   (Three Knights)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. c3   (Ponziani)

Some more uncommon moves:

  • 3. Nxe5, the Irish Gambit, sacrificing a knight for a pawn.
  • 3. g3, the rarely seen Konstantinopolsky Opening
  • 3. Be2, a passive reply called the Inverted Hungarian Opening or Tayler Opening.
  • 3. b4, a very rarely seen gambit called the Pachman Wing.
  • 3. c4!?, Dresden Opening, not allowing d5 and after Nf6 transpose to Nimzowitch variation Nc3!, is not bad

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. Nxe5   (Irish Gambit)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. g3   (Konstantinopolsky)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. Be2   (Inverted Hungarian)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. b4   (Pachman Wing Gambit)

a b c d e f g h
8        8
7        7
6        6
5        5
4        4
3        3
2        2
1        1
a b c d e f g h
3. c4   (Dresden)


Statistics

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Estimated next move popularity
Bb5 48%, Bc4 26%, d4 14%, Nc3 9%, c3 1%. All other moves less than 1%.

Theory table

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For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation..

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6

3 4 5
Ruy Lopez Bb5
a6		 Ba4
Nf6		 O-O
Be7		 =
Italian Game Bc4
Bc5		 c3
Nf6		 d4
exd4		 =
Scotch Game d4
exd4		 Nxd4
Bc5		 Nb3
Bb4+		 =
Four Knights Game Nc3
Nf6		 d4
exd4		 Nxd4
Bb4		 =
Ponziani Opening c3
d5		 Bb5
dxe4		 Nxe5
Qg5		 =

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Wikipedia has related information at King's Knight Opening

References

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  • Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.
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