Four Knights Game: Italian Variation 4. Nc3 Nf6
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Statistics from Lichess
8,698,356 games: White 47.6% / Draw 4.9% / Black 47.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation | 4,513,1254.5M | |
| 2,435,2052.4M | ||
| 593,396593K | ||
| 406,131406K | ||
| 343,906344K | ||
| 93,11693K | ||
| 57,73958K | ||
| 52,90853K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 22, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.13 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O h6 7. h3 a6 8. Nd5 d6 9. c3 Ba7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 49% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 12.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 11.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 128K | |
| Masters, over the board | 482 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Aronian, L.
- Harikrishna, P. – Nakamura, H.
- Kramnik, V. – Anand, V.
- Short, N. D. – Carlsen, M.
- Fedoseev, V. – Mamedyarov, S.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Overview
Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (ECO C50, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 (4 moves).
In 8,698,356 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.6%, Black 47.5% and 4.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. d3, in 52% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 4…Nf6
The most played answer, 5. d3 (Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation), also scores best for White: 51.7%, with White winning 49.2% and Black 45.8% of 4.5M games. Of the main answers, 5. O-O scores lowest: 48.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. d3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
This line peaked in 2021 at 0.41% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.29% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.29% | 104,185 |
| 2017 | 0.28% | 155,932 |
| 2018 | 0.28% | 218,361 |
| 2019 | 0.29% | 363,361 |
| 2020 | 0.37% | 1,092,785 |
| 2021 | 0.41% | 1,607,741 |
| 2022 | 0.36% | 1,368,046 |
| 2023 | 0.34% | 1,263,315 |
| 2024 | 0.31% | 1,105,194 |
| 2025 | 0.29% | 999,919 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.28% | 302,871 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (C50)”. Lichess data as of 22 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/four-knights-game-italian-variation-2