Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense

Definition

The Two Knights Defense is a dynamic counter to the Italian Game arising after the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6. By developing the king’s knight to f6, Black immediately strikes at the e4–pawn instead of playing the more sedate 3…Bc5 (Giuoco Piano). ECO codes C55–C59 are devoted to this defense.

Usage in Play

Players adopt the Two Knights Defense when they desire unbalanced, tactical middlegames rather than slow maneuvering. The opening can transpose into furious attacking lines such as the Knight Attack (4.Ng5) or into strategic battles after quieter moves like 4.d3 or 4.d4.

Strategic Themes

Central tension: The pawn on e4 is simultaneously attacked (…Nf6) and defended (Nf3); this tug-of-war determines early plans.
King safety vs. initiative: Both sides must weigh the value of grabbing material against exposing their king, especially along the f-file and diagonals a2–g8 & c4–f7.
Piece activity: Rapid piece development is valued more than pawn structure; premature pawn moves are often punished.
Choice of temperature: White can choose very sharp (4.Ng5) or very quiet (4.d3) continuations without allowing Black an easy equalizing plan.

Historical Notes

The defense dates back to the 16^th century treatises of Giulio Cesare Polerio and Gioachino Greco. It later fascinated 19^th-century romantics—Paul Morphy, Adolf Anderssen, and friends of the famous Opera Game—because of its sacrificial possibilities.
In modern chess it has been wielded by elite grandmasters such as Anatoly Karpov (who preferred the restrained 4.d3 systems as White) and Hikaru Nakamura (who enjoys the razor-sharp Traxler Counter-Attack with Black).

Illustrative Example

José Raúl Capablanca – Frank Marshall, USA (Rubinstein Memorial) 1911

The third World Champion chose the feared Knight Attack, yet Marshall steered into the Normal Variation with 5…Na5, eventually equalising.

Interesting Facts

When the opening was added to the ECO in the 1970s, so many sub-lines existed that five separate codes (C55-C59) were required—more than for the entire French Defense!
Engines initially distrusted the Two Knights because of the delicate material/king-safety balance, but modern neural networks (e.g. Leela Zero) rate it fully sound for Black.

Knight Attack (Two Knights Defense)

Definition

The Knight Attack is the aggressive line 4.Ng5 in the Two Knights Defense: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5. White’s king’s knight pounces on g5 to create an immediate double threat on the sensitive f7-square in concert with the bishop on c4.

How It Works

By attacking f7 twice, White encourages Black to advance the center-pawn with 4…d5 or to accept even wilder evasions such as the Traxler (4…Bc5). The resulting positions are among the sharpest in open-game theory; a single inaccuracy often decides the game.

Main Black Replies

4…d5 – Most popular; leads to the Normal Variation (5…Na5), the Fried Liver Attack (5…Nxd5 6.Nxf7), or the sharp Fritz/Ulvestad options.
4…Bc5 – The Traxler (Wilkes-Barre) Counter-Attack, a daring gambit where Black ignores the threat to f7 and launches an attack on f2 instead.
4…b5 – Ulvestad Variation, deflecting the bishop.

Strategic Significance

Initiative vs. Material: White often sacrifices a pawn (or more) for rapid piece activity against Black’s uncastled king.
Development race: Both kings can remain in the center for many moves, so tempo-gaining threats (checks, discovered attacks) carry great weight.
Enduring popularity: Despite heavy computer analysis, the Knight Attack thrives at every level, from scholastic “Fried Liver” traps to elite events.

Famous Games

Mikhail Tal – Paul Keres, Zürich 1959 Tal unleashed 4.Ng5 and later sacrificed a knight on f7, showcasing the attacking potential that would take him to the World Championship a year later.
Magnus Carlsen – Fabiano Caruana, Wijk aan Zee 2010 A rare Knight Attack appearance at super-GM level; Carlsen sidestepped heavy theory with an early 6.Nxf7!? but Caruana defended resourcefully to draw.

Interesting Nuggets

The so-called Fried Liver Attack (6.Nxf7) is banned from many scholastic chess camps—coaches want students to learn development, not traps!
In 2020 chess-streamer Eric Rosen popularised the tongue-in-cheek phrase Never play Ng5!—an ironic nod to how often 4.Ng5 appears in amateur blitz blunders.

Normal Variation (Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack)

Definition

The Normal Variation is the main line that arises after the soundest defense to the Knight Attack: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5. Black chases the attacking bishop and avoids the perilous 5…Nxd5 (which permits the Fried Liver Attack 6.Nxf7). ECO code C57 is dedicated to this variation.

Positional Ideas

Piece play over pawns: Black concedes the d5-pawn (at least temporarily) but gains time and activity with the knight on a5 aiming at c4 and b7.
Bishop pair imbalance: After 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 Black possesses the bishop pair and half-open b-file, compensating for an isolated d-pawn.
Delayed recapture: In many sub-lines Black waits to regain the d5-pawn until development is complete, mirroring the open-center counter-attack principle of the Scandinavian and Grünfeld.

Typical Continuations

6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 – Capablanca’s line, aiming for rapid castling and a stable extra pawn.
6.d4 exd4 7.Bb5+ – Modern variation where White sacrifices the pawn back to keep a spatial grip.
6.d3 – Positional approach, reinforcing c4 and preparing 0-0; popularised by Karpov.

Model Game

Viswanathan Anand – Veselin Topalov, FIDE World Ch. (Match) 2010, Game 6

Anand deployed the Capablanca line; the ensuing middlegame proved so sound that it became Topalov’s main defense for the rest of the match.

Historical & Theoretical Significance

The Normal Variation was developed in the late 19^th century by analysts such as Carl Hamppe and Emil Schallopp, who showed that 5…Na5 defused White’s quick tactics. For decades it served as the accepted safety exit for Black until engines revitalised gambit alternatives like the Fritz Variation. Today, most elite grandmasters still trust 5…Na5 as Black’s most solid reply to 4.Ng5.

Trivia

The a5-knight often returns to c4 or b7, prompting jokes that it makes a round-trip ticket—yet the time it buys is priceless.
In friendly play the Normal Variation is sometimes called the Anti-Fried-Liver because it side-steps the feared 6.Nxf7 fork.