Caissa Codex
C49

Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish 5…O-O 6. d3

Chess diagram: Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish after 6. d3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

107,161 games: White 51.0% / Draw 6.7% / Black 42.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Symmetrical Variation 60,62661K
Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation 25,35425K
6,8746,874
4,4954,495
3,6253,625
3,3473,347
1,9801,980
215215

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.12 The position is about equal

Best play: 6... Bxc3 7. bxc3 d6 8. Nd2 Ne7 9. d4 Bd7 10. Bd3 Ng6 11. dxe5

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish (ECO C49, Open Games) is a variation of the Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 (6 moves).

In 107,161 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 42.3% and 6.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…d6, in 57% of those games.

It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Symmetrical Variation and Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation. In all, 10 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 6. d3

6…Bxc3 (Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation) scores best for Black: 48.9%, with Black winning 44.9% and White 47.0% of 25K games. The most played, 6…d6, scores 45.5% in 61K games, and 6…h6 scores lowest: 43.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6…Bxc3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Variations (3)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5. O-O O-O 6. d3, the position after Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish also goes on to:

All 10 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Double Spanish (C49)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/four-knights-game-spanish-variation-double-spanish-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/four-knights-game-spanish-variation-double-spanish-2