Tree path 9 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Italian Game › Two Knights Defense › Open Variation › Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Dubois Réti Defense › Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack › Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Keidansky Variation
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Italian Game C50
- Two Knights Defense C55
- Open Variation C56
- Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, Dubois Réti Defense C44
- Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack C56
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Keidansky Variation C56 you are here
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Keidansky Variation
Overview
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Keidansky Variation is a named branch in the Open Games group of chess theory, classified under ECO C56.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 18 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. Nxc6 Bxf2+ 9. Kf1 Qh4 to reach the canonical position.
In the opening tree, this line branches off from Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, part of the broader King's Pawn Game system.
Use the board to walk through every move, check how the position has scored on Lichess, or take it head-to-head against Stockfish.
- ECO code
- C56
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 18
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
3,858 games · White 35.4% / Draw 4.1% / Black 60.5%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Nd4+ | 1,488 | |
| Qxd5 | 897 | |
| Nxa7+ | 592 | |
| Qf3 | 498 | |
| Nc3 | 144 | |
| Nb4+ | 109 | |
| g3 | 32 | |
| Nb8+ | 25 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 03:20:07
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