Open games & French

King's Knight Opening

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 2 playable continuations to walk from here.

Opening repertoire map

Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.

Current position
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Double Gambit Accepted
11 plies
Scotch Gambit, Nakhmanson Gambit
Popularity by Elo
Share of Lichess blitz, rapid, and classical games that continued with each move.
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Current setup

Move ideas

  1. 1.e4

    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.

  2. 1…e5

    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.

  3. 2.Nf3

    Develops the king’s knight and attacks Black’s e5-pawn.

    Idea: Increase central pressure while getting ready to castle.

  4. 2…Nc6

    Defends e5 while developing the queen’s knight toward the center.

    Idea: Hold the central pawn and keep several classical setups available.

  5. 3.Bc4

    Develops the bishop onto an active diagonal aimed at f7.

    Idea: Accelerate kingside development and make Black’s weakest early square a target.

  6. 3…Nf6

    Develops the knight to f6, bringing it into the game.

    Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

  7. 4.d4

    Advances to d4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.

    Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.

  8. 4…exd4

    Captures the pawn on d4 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.

    Idea: Open lines in the center and reshape the center for the next phase.

  9. 5.O-O

    Tucks the king away and activates the rook in a single move.

    Idea: Finish kingside development so the central pieces can coordinate safely.

  10. 5…Nxe4

    Captures the pawn on e4 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.

    Idea: Remove an active defender and improve the moving piece’s influence.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

2 moves
Re1Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Double Gambit Accepted2 named lines · Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Anderssen Attack · Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Anderssen Attack, Main LineRepositions the rook to e1, where it influences a new part of the board.Idea: Improve the piece’s activity and support the next stage of the plan.Nc3Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Nakhmanson Gambit1 named lineDevelops the knight to c3, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

Named variations

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.

Openings from the same volume

ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the King's Knight Opening.