Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack
Chess opening · ECO C57 · 7 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense with 4. Ng5.
How often it is played
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack and its variations appeared in 0.43% of games — 12,825 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 106 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 53%, 2.8% were drawn and Black won 45%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.20 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Four Knights Game: Italian Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 | 0.51% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 | 0.50% |
| Italian Game: Giuoco Piano | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 | 1.4% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, Normal Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 | 0.31% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5 | 0.05% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Nxe4 | 0.03% |
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