Current position
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Suhle Defense
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 onto an active diagonal aimed at f7.
Idea: Accelerate kingside development and make Black’s weakest early square a target.
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 knight to g5, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Advances to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Captures the pawn on d5 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.
Idea: Open lines in the center and reshape the center for the next phase.
Repositions the knight to a5, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Repositions the bishop to b5, where it influences a new part of the board, forcing the king to answer a check.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Advances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Captures the pawn on c6 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.
Idea: Open lines in the queenside and reshape the center for the next phase.
Captures the pawn on c6 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.
Idea: Open lines in the queenside and reshape the center for the next phase.
Repositions the bishop to e2, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Advances the h-pawn to gain kingside edge space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Repositions the knight to f3, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.
Advances to e4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Repositions the knight to e5, 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 bishop to d6, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
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.