Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
4,434,865 games: White 48.9% / Draw 5.0% / Black 46.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Pirc Defense: Classical Variation | 1,867,1511.9M | |
| 495,303495K | ||
| 474,970475K | ||
| 445,988446K | ||
| 403,476403K | ||
| Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation, Suttles Variation | 287,007287K | |
| 146,411146K | ||
| 80,60581K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.48 White is slightly better
Best play: 4... Nf6 5. Be3 O-O 6. Qd2 c6 7. a4 Ng4 8. Bf4 e5 9. dxe5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 51% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 3.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 2.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 379K | |
| Masters, over the board | 5,543 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I.
- Tomashevsky, E. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Dominguez Perez, L. – Vachier Lagrave, M.
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
Overview
Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation (ECO B06, Semi-Open Games) is a variation of the Modern Defense: Standard Defense, reached after 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 (4 moves).
In 4,434,865 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.9%, Black 46.1% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Nf6, in 42% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation, Suttles Variation, Tal Gambit.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation
4…a6 scores best for Black: 51.8%, with Black winning 49.2% and White 45.6% of 403K games. The most played, 4…Nf6, scores 49.2% in 1.9M games, and 4…Bg4 scores lowest: 46.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nf6.
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 Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.17% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.14%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.14% | 50,374 |
| 2017 | 0.15% | 84,740 |
| 2018 | 0.16% | 124,776 |
| 2019 | 0.16% | 202,065 |
| 2020 | 0.17% | 507,451 |
| 2021 | 0.17% | 671,464 |
| 2022 | 0.17% | 643,112 |
| 2023 | 0.18% | 659,557 |
| 2024 | 0.18% | 627,936 |
| 2025 | 0.17% | 599,574 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.18% | 194,636 |
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)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Modern Defense: Two Knights Variation (B06)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/modern-defense-two-knights-variation