Current position
Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Wormald Attack
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
The King's Knight Opening starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 and is catalogued under ECO C40, in the open games & french half of the book. The catalog indexes 3 lines inside it, grouped into 3 named variations, and the position after those moves has 1 playable continuation to walk from here.
Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.
Current setup
Move ideas
Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.
Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.
Meets White’s center directly and opens lines for Black’s queen and bishop.
Idea: Fight for equal central space in a balanced, open position.
Develops the king’s knight and attacks Black’s e5-pawn.
Idea: Increase central pressure while getting ready to castle.
Defends e5 while developing the queen’s knight toward the center.
Idea: Hold the central pawn and keep several classical setups available.
Develops the bishop and pressures the knight that helps defend e5.
Idea: Create long-term pressure on Black’s center before deciding whether to exchange.
Advances the a-pawn to gain queenside edge space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Repositions the bishop to a4, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Develops the knight to f6, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Repositions the queen to e2, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Coordinate threats carefully while avoiding unnecessary tempi against the queen.
Advances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.
Idea: Prepare a fianchetto or discourage the opponent’s expansion on that wing.
Repositions the bishop to b3, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Waiting for Lichess game popularity.
Each line below is an indexed entry under King's Knight Opening. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.
ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the King's Knight Opening.