Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack
The Knight Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5) is White's most direct answer to the Two Knights Defense. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
10,100,916 games: White 50.3% / Draw 3.6% / Black 46.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Variation | 8,149,3668.1M | |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack | 1,319,4451.3M | |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit | 449,082449K | |
| 47,15947K | ||
| 29,61230K | ||
| 23,07323K | ||
| 22,49422K | ||
| 20,18920K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.16 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Nd5 9. Nf3
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 worse this line does for White: White scores 58% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 11.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 11.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 4.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 432K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,454 |
Master games
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Gukesh, D. – Carlsen, M.
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Aronian, L. – Ding Liren
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
Description
The Knight Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5) is White's most direct answer to the Two Knights Defense. The knight and the bishop on c4 together attack f7, which only Black's king defends.
Origins
The Two Knights was first recorded by Giulio Cesare Polerio around 1580, and 4.Ng5 is White's traditional reply. It was common in the Romantic era but was criticised by the Classical school for moving a piece twice and attacking before development is complete; Siegbert Tarrasch famously called it "a duffer's move". It revived in the 1990s when Alexander Morozevich and Nigel Short took it up, though it remains less common than 4.d3. World champions Steinitz, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov and Anand have all played it.
The idea
After 4.Ng5 the only good defence is 4...d5, blocking the bishop. After 5.exd5 White practically wins a pawn by force, but Black gets quick development and the initiative in return. In the 19th century Mikhail Chigorin showed Black's compensation in the line 5...Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6. The whole variation is known for extensive theory and sharp tactical play.
Main lines
- 4...d5 5.exd5 (Normal Variation), then:
- 5...Na5, the Polerio Defense, also called the Chigorin Gambit: 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6, when 8.Bd3, 8.Be2 and 8.Qf3 are all common. 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 was the main line from the 19th century, but 8.Bd3 has overtaken it. 6.d3, which Paul Morphy preferred, tries to hold the pawn;
- 5...Nd4, the Fritz Variation, best met by 6.c3;
- 5...b5, the Ulvestad Variation, introduced by Olav Ulvestad in 1941; White's only good reply is 6.Bf1!;
- 5...Nxd5?!, considered too risky to play, though not definitively refuted; 6.Nxf7 is the Fried Liver Attack.
- 4...Bc5!?, the Traxler Counterattack, ignoring the threat to f7 and leading to wild complications.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- White wins a pawn by force after 4...d5 5.exd5.
- Black must know a lot of theory; natural moves such as 5...Nxd5 are dangerous.
Weaknesses
- White moves the knight twice early, and Black gets a lead in development and the initiative for the pawn.
- In the old main line White ends up behind in development, though a pawn up with the better pawn structure.
Who should play it
4.Ng5 suits White players who are happy to grab a pawn and defend, and who are ready for a lot of theory; Black players of the Two Knights must know the Polerio, Fritz and Traxler lines.
The numbers
On Lichess White does very well at low ratings, 56.2% against 40.7% under 1400 and 53.0% against 44.0% at 1400–1799. From 1800 the results level out: 49.0% against 47.2% at 1800–2199 and 48.3% against 46.2% from 2200 up. In about 3,500 master games White won 32.9%, Black 24.5%, and 42.6% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack
4…Bc5 (Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack) scores best for Black: 51.0%, with Black winning 49.5% and White 47.4% of 1.3M games. The most played answer, 4…d5, scores lowest: 47.7% in 8.1M games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…d5.
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
Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack has lost ground since 2016: 0.33% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.48%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.48% | 170,116 |
| 2017 | 0.43% | 237,068 |
| 2018 | 0.4% | 311,375 |
| 2019 | 0.39% | 492,730 |
| 2020 | 0.43% | 1,258,634 |
| 2021 | 0.44% | 1,720,452 |
| 2022 | 0.4% | 1,502,459 |
| 2023 | 0.39% | 1,451,727 |
| 2024 | 0.36% | 1,294,146 |
| 2025 | 0.33% | 1,155,777 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.32% | 354,632 |
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
Variations (3)
All 30 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C57 Normal Variation 4 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit 4 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack 4 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fried Liver Attack 6 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fritz Variation 5 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Kloss Gambit 5 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Lolli Attack 6 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense 5 moves
- C57 Bishop Sacrifice Line 5 moves
- C57 Knight Sacrifice Line 5 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ulvestad Variation 5 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fegatello Attack, Leonhardt Variation 11 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fritz, Gruber Variation 8 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Pincus Variation 6 moves
- C58 Bishop Check Line 6 moves
- C58 Kieseritzky Variation 6 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, King March Line 7 moves
- C57 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Variation, Trencianske-Teplice Gambit 6 moves
- C57 Kurkin Gambit 7 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense 8 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Maróczy Variation 9 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubow Variation 8 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Yankovich Variation 10 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Blackburne Variation 8 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Colman Variation 8 moves
- C58 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Paoli Variation 9 moves
- C59 Polerio Defense, Suhle Defense 8 moves
- C59 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knorre Variation 12 moves
- C59 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Göring Variation 10 moves
- C59 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Steinitz Variation 9 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Two Knights Defense, version of 25 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack (C57)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-knight-attack