Caissa Codex
C56

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Yurdansky Attack

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Yurdansky Attack after 13. b4

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Statistics from Lichess

548 games: White 61.7% / Draw 4.9% / Black 33.4%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.37 Black is slightly better

Best play: 13... Qf5 14. b5 gxh4 15. bxc6 Qxf6 16. cxb7 Rb8 17. Nxd4 Rxb7 18. Nc6+

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

Overview

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Yurdansky Attack (ECO C56, Open Games) is a variation of the Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Nc3 Qa5 9. Nxe4 Be6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Nf6+ Ke7 13. b4 (13 moves).

In 548 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 61.7%, Black 33.4% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 13…Qf5, in 84% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Nc3 Qa5 9. Nxe4 Be6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Nf6+ Ke7 13. b4, the position after Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Yurdansky Attack (C56)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-yurdansky-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-yurdansky-attack