Caissa Codex
C48

Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation, Henneberger Variation

Chess diagram: Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation, Henneberger Variation after 5. O-O

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

71,211 games: White 48.8% / Draw 6.8% / Black 44.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
45,54846K
13,80814K
6,0506,050
3,6503,650
834834
717717
210210
155155

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

0.00 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... c6 6. Bd3 Nxf3+ 7. Qxf3 d6 8. a4 g6 9. Bc4 a5 10. h3

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

Overview

Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation, Henneberger Variation (ECO C48, Open Games) is a variation of Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. O-O (5 moves).

In 71,211 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.8%, Black 44.4% and 6.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Nxb5, in 64% of those games.

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How to play against the Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation, Henneberger Variation

5…Bc5 scores best for Black: 54.5%, with Black winning 51.5% and White 42.4% of 6,050 games. The most played answer, 5…Nxb5, scores lowest: 45.2% in 46K games. Stockfish's first choice is 5…c6.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 3…Nc6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. O-O, the position after Petrov's Defense: Three Knights Game also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Four Knights Game: Spanish Variation, Rubinstein Variation, Henneberger Variation (C48)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/four-knights-game-spanish-variation-rubinstein-variation-henneberger-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/four-knights-game-spanish-variation-rubinstein-variation-henneberger-variation