Two Knights Defence tactics
One side gets material, the other gets time, and the argument is settled on f7 before anybody has finished developing.
- 120 positions in the course
- Difficulty 1073–2293
- Section: Open Games
- 5 levels
What the Two Knights produces tactically
Meeting 3.Bc4 with 3...Nf6 rather than 3...Bc5 invites White to play Ng5, which attacks f7 a second time when only the king is defending it. Everything in the opening follows from that one moment. Black's standard answer is to strike in the centre with ...d5 and accept a material deficit in return for the time it takes White's knight to get home.
So the tactics are unusually concrete for an opening this early. A knight on the rim with no route back. A king that has taken on f7 and can no longer castle, but is otherwise perfectly safe if it survives the next four moves. A second pawn grabbed one move too greedily. The positions in this skill are what those arguments look like ten moves later.
How to spot it
- Count what actually defends f7 rather than what looks like it does. In this opening the answer is frequently just the king.
- A knight that has jumped to g5 or the rim has to have a way home. Check for it before you commit, on either side.
- A king that has been dragged to f7 or e7 is a target for checks that gain time, not necessarily for mate. Use it to develop.
- When you are the side ahead on material here, every pawn you take costs a move. Count the moves before taking the pawn.
Three Two Knights positions
Three positions from the 120 in this skill, easiest first. The highlighted squares are the move your opponent has just played. Work it out before you open the answer.
Position 1
White to move. Find the best move.
Show the answer
16...Nc2 17.Qd8#
The line ends in checkmate. The Two Knights trades material for time over the f7 square, and these are the middlegames that argument turns into a dozen moves later.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1379 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 2
White to move. Find the best move.
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19...Qxd4 20.Qxc6+ Kb8 21.Qxb7#
The line ends in checkmate. The Two Knights trades material for time over the f7 square, and these are the middlegames that argument turns into a dozen moves later.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1620 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
Position 3
White to move. Find the best move.
Show the answer
16...h5 17.f4+ Kf5 18.Bg6#
The line ends in checkmate. The Two Knights trades material for time over the f7 square, and these are the middlegames that argument turns into a dozen moves later.
The position comes from the middlegame of a real game, rated 1991 for difficulty. The answer reaches checkmate.
The Fried Liver, and how not to worry about it
The Fried Liver -- White's knight taking on f7 to drag the king out -- is the line everybody hears about first. It is dangerous, it is not winning, and Black has several sound answers, including declining the whole discussion with a different fourth move. Knowing one of them well matters more than knowing all of them.
For White, the warning is the opposite one. The attack is real for about six moves and then it is just a piece deficit, so a Two Knights played for the trick and not for the position tends to produce a lost endgame against anyone who has seen it before.
Questions people ask
What is the best answer to the Two Knights Defence?
There is no single best move. The main tries are 4.Ng5 for the sharp fight over f7 and 4.d4 for an open game, and both are fully playable. At club level the practical question is which one you have looked at more recently.
Is the Two Knights Defence sound for Black?
Yes. Black gives up material in several main lines and gets genuine compensation in development and activity; the resulting positions are unbalanced rather than bad. It is a demanding defence to play well, which is a different criticism.
Nearby patterns
Two Knights sits in Open Games. The rest of that section: