Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, Knight Sacrifice Line
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Statistics from Lichess
630,968 games: White 44.1% / Draw 2.7% / Black 53.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 566,555567K | ||
| 55,06555K | ||
| 2,3592,359 | ||
| 1,9471,947 | ||
| 1,6161,616 | ||
| 1,2021,202 | ||
| 1,0081,008 | ||
| 632632 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Bxf2+ 6. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7. Kg1 Qh4 8. g3 Nxg3 9. Nxh8 Nd4 10. hxg3
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 51% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 966K | |
| 1400–1799 | 849K | |
| 1800–2199 | 267K | |
| 2200 and up | 12K | |
| Masters, over the board | 27 |
Master games
- Ninov, N. – Marzolo, C.
- Saglione, E. – Moreno Carretero, C.
- Castaneda, G. – Gubajdullin, A.
- Kalichkin, I. – Tahirov, F.
- Horvath, A. – Bokros, A.
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 27, 2026
Overview
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, Knight Sacrifice Line (ECO C57, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5 5. Nxf7 (5 moves).
In 630,968 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.1%, Black 53.2% and 2.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bxf2+, in 90% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, King March Line.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, Knight Sacrifice Line
The most played answer, 5…Bxf2+, also scores best for Black: 56.8%, with Black winning 55.4% and White 41.9% of 567K games. Of the main answers, 5…Qe7 scores lowest: 39.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Bxf2+.
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, Traxler Counterattack, Knight Sacrifice Line is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.015% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.034%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.034% | 12,149 |
| 2017 | 0.031% | 17,088 |
| 2018 | 0.031% | 24,737 |
| 2019 | 0.032% | 39,908 |
| 2020 | 0.034% | 98,967 |
| 2021 | 0.035% | 135,558 |
| 2022 | 0.024% | 91,028 |
| 2023 | 0.02% | 75,489 |
| 2024 | 0.017% | 61,058 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 51,856 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.014% | 15,020 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, Knight Sacrifice Line (C57)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-traxler-counterattack-knight-sacrifice-line