Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. Bc4/3...Nf6/4. d4/4...exd4

Two Knights Defence - Classical
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 kingf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 white bishopd4 black pawne4 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 black kinge2 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)
Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4

Two Knights Defence - Classical Variation

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4...exd4

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Black plays exd4. Black is a pawn up but has a number of weaknesses the square e5, the Knight on f6 that can be pinned and also the weak f7 square. This all adds up to giving White a number of options. They are.

  • 5. O-O the classical variation.
  • 5. e5 the modern variation.
  • 5. Ng5 a misguided direct attack on f7.
  • 5. Nxd4 rather normal move.
  • 5. Bg5 pinning the Knight, but the pin can soon be undone, leaving no advantage for White.
  • 5. Qe2 this supports e5, although e5 can be played immediately anyway.
  • 5. c3 fails to 5...Nxe4 where Black has the nice d5 available and time to block any pins on the e-file against the King.

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.d4 exd4


5

6

7

8

9

10
1 O-O
Nxe4
Re1
d5
Bxd5
Qxd5
Nc3
Qh5
Nxe4
Be6
Bg5
Bd6
=
2 ...
Bc5
e5
d5
exf6
dxc4
Re1+
Be6
Ng5
Qd5
Nc3
Qf5
=
3 e5
d5
Bb5
Ne4
Nxd4
Bd7
Bxc6
bxc6
O-O
Bc5
Be3
Qe7
=
4 Ng5
d5
exd5
Qe7+
Kf1
Ne5
Qxd4
Nxc4
Qxc4
h6
Nf3
Qc5
=
5 Nxd4
Nxe4
Bxf7+
Kxf7
Qxh5+
g6
Qd5
Kg7
Nxc6
bxc6
Qxe4
Qe8
=
6 Bg5
Be7
O-O
O-O
=
7 Qe2
Bc5
e5
O-O
O-O
d5
=/+
8 c3
Nxe4
=/+

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References

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