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Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bc4/3...Nf6/4. Ng5

< Chess Opening Theory | 1. e4 | 1...e5 | 2. Nf3 | 2...Nc6 | 3. Bc4 | 3...Nf6
The latest reviewed version was checked on 8 June 2024. There is 1 pending change awaiting review.
Two Knights Defence
a b c d e f g h
8a8 black rookb8 black kingc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black kingh8 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 knightg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 white knighth5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 white bishopd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 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 black kingg1 black kingh1 white rook1
a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN)

r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p1N1/2B1P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b

Moves: 1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5
ECO code: C57-C59
Parent: Italian Game

Two Knights Defence

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4. Ng5!?

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This move is interesting. While some in the past considered it ridiculous, others point out that White wins a pawn in the process.

The White Knight now threatens a fork with Nxf7, yet to do so it's broken a rule of opening development in that the same piece moves twice; if Black plays correctly then White will seriously fall behind in development. Black's only sensible way to defend f7 is to block the bishop's access with 4...d5, but the pawn on d5 itself is not fully defensible by Black.

Black has two sensible replies.

  • 4...d5 The best way for Black to defend is to play d5, blocking the bishop from the weak f7 square.
  • 4...Bc5 Ignoring the threat, a risky option is the Traxler Attack. Black can try a bishop sacrifice on f2 if White plays Nxf7. Instead, White will often prefer Bxf7+.

Additionally, black may choose to move the knight on f6. This opens up an attack on the white g5 knight. There are two sensible methods of achieving this:

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.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5


4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Two Knights Defence 1 Ng5
Bc5!?		 Bxf7+
Ke7		 Bd5
Rf8		 O-O
d6		 c3
Bg4		 Qb3
Bb6		 Bxc6
bxc6		 +/=
2 ...
d5		 exd5
Nxd5!?		 d4
Bb4+		 c3
Be7		 Nxf7
Kxf7		 Qf3+
Ke6		 Qe4
Rf8		 +/=
3 ...
...		 ...
...		 Nxf7!?
Kxf7		 Qf3+
Ke6		 Nc3
Ncb4		 a3
Nxc2+		 Kd1
Nxa1		 ∞
4 ...
...		 ...
Na5		 d3
h6		 Nf3
e4		 Qe2
Nxc4		 dxc4
Bc5		 Nfd2
O-O		 =
5 ...
...		 ...
...		 Bb5+
c6		 dxc6
bxc6		 Be2
h6		 Nf3
e4		 Ne5
Bc5		 ∞
6 ...
...		 ...
...		 ...
...		 ...
...		 ...
...		 Nh3
Bd6		 d3
O-O		 ∞
7 ...
...		 ...
...		 ...
...		 ...
...		 Qf3
Be7		 Bxc6+
Nxc6		 Qxc6+
Bd7		 ∞
8 ...
...		 ...
b5		 Bf1
h6		 Nxf7
Kxf7		 dxc6
Qd5		 Qf3
Qc5		 b4
Qxb4		 ∞
9 ...
...		 ...
Nd4		 c3
b5		 Bf1
Nxd5		 Ne4
Qh4		 Ng3
Bg4		 f3
e4
10 ...
Nxe4?!		 Bxf7+!
Ke7		 d4
d5		 Nc3 +=
11 ...
Nd5		 d3 +=

Statistics

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Estimated next move popularity
d5 80%, Bc5 19%, Others less than 1%

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References

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Wikipedia has related information at Two Knights Defence

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