- ECO code
- C44
- Moves
- 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6
- Family
- King's Knight Opening
- To move
- White
- Master games
- 19,295
- Average game length
- 45 moves
- Years covered
- 1848–2026
King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation is the opening filed under ECO code C44, reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. It belongs to the King's Knight Opening family and is known as the Normal Variation; in the resulting position it is White to move.
Katuranga's collection of 138,070 master games contains 19,295 games on this line — the 8th most played opening in the collection. The oldest game on this line is from 1848 and the most recent from 2026. The busiest decade in this collection is the 2020s, with 7,684 games. An average game here lasts 45 moves.
White wins 34% of those games, 41% end in a draw, and Black wins 25%. Compared with the collection average (White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28%), Black scores worse here by 3 percentage points. Draws are more common here than usual, by 6 points.
From this position the most popular move is 3.Bb5, played in 12,516 games, followed by 3.Bc4 (4,424) and 3.Nc3 (1,180). 3.Bb5 leads into Ruy Lopez. After 3.Bb5 White scores 34% and Black 23%.
The name that appears most often on the White side of this line is Vachier Lagrave,M (899 games); on the Black side, Nakamura,Hi (816).
24 named variations branch off this position and have their own page here, among them Ruy Lopez; Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense; Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense.
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Results in master games
- White 34% (6,532)
- Draws 41% (7,903)
- Black 25% (4,860)
Most played continuations
| Move | Games | White / draws / Black | Leads into |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.Bb5 | 12,516 | 34/43/23 | Ruy Lopez |
| 3.Bc4 | 4,424 | 36/34/30 | Italian Game |
| 3.Nc3 | 1,180 | 26/47/27 | Three Knights Opening |
| 3.d4 | 970 | 30/36/34 | Scotch Game |
| 3.c3 | 89 | 43/20/37 | — |
| 3.g3 | 89 | 47/27/26 | — |
| 3.Be2 | 15 | 34/33/33 | — |
| 3.d3 | 12 | 58/17/25 | — |
Variations from this position
- Ruy Lopez · 3.Bb5 · 12,516 games
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense · 3.Bb5 a6 · 8,064 games
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense · 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O · 5,861 games
- Italian Game · 3.Bc4 · 4,424 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 · 3,942 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense · 3.Bb5 Nf6 · 3,599 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 · 2,916 games
- Italian Game: Giuoco Piano · 3.Bc4 Bc5 · 2,675 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense · 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O · 1,850 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio Gambit Accepted · 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 · 1,680 games
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense · 3.Bc4 Nf6 · 1,656 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation · 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 · 1,575 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O · 1,424 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O · 1,368 games
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening · 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 · 1,354 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 · 1,234 games
- Three Knights Opening · 3.Nc3 · 1,180 games
- Italian Game: Classical Variation · 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 · 1,161 games
- Italian Game: Classical Variation · 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 · 1,111 games
- Four Knights Game · 3.Nc3 Nf6 · 1,058 games
- Scotch Game · 3.d4 · 970 games
- Scotch Game · 3.d4 exd4 · 965 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, l'Hermet Variation · 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 · 880 games
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo · 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 · 837 games
How the position is reached
- King's Pawn Game · 1.e4 · 62,859 games
- King's Pawn Game · 1.e4 e5 · 24,632 games
- King's Knight Opening · 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 · 21,895 games
Played most often by
As White
- Vachier Lagrave,M 899
- Caruana,F 633
- Nepomniachtchi,I 583
As Black
- Nakamura,Hi 816
- Aronian,L 777
- So,W 611
Games per decade
- 1840s 7
- 1850s 174
- 1860s 234
- 1870s 105
- 1880s 125
- 1890s 359
- 1900s 445
- 1910s 307
- 1920s 353
- 1930s 218
- 1940s 262
- 1950s 414
- 1960s 544
- 1970s 405
- 1980s 486
- 1990s 864
- 2000s 2,003
- 2010s 4,306
- 2020s 7,684
Master games on this line
| White | Black | Result | Year | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapport,R | Ding Liren | 1-0 | 2026 | FIDE World Rapid Team |
| Matyakubov,Miraziz | Erigaisi,Arjun | 1-0 | 2026 | Titled Tue 6th Jan 2026 |
| So,W | Gukesh,D | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | 14th Norway Chess 2026 |
| Abdusattorov,Nodirbek | Keymer,Vincent | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | Titled Tue 10th Feb 2026 |
| Dominguez Perez,L | Wei Yi | 1/2-1/2 | 2026 | FIDE World Rapid Team |
| Anand,V | Petrov,N | 1-0 | 2026 | FIDE World Rapid Team |
Frequently asked questions
What is the King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation?
It is the opening with ECO code C44, reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. It belongs to the King's Knight Opening family.
Is the King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation good for White or for Black?
In 19,295 master games on this line White wins 34%, 41% are drawn and Black wins 25%. The collection average is White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28% — so this line is no worse than usual for White than the field as a whole.
What is the main continuation of the King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation?
3.Bb5 — played in 12,516 of the master games on this line, which leads into Ruy Lopez.
Which grandmasters play the King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation?
On the White side Vachier Lagrave,M (899), Caruana,F (633), Nepomniachtchi,I (583); on the Black side Nakamura,Hi (816), Aronian,L (777), So,W (611).
Every number on this page is computed from Katuranga's master game collection; names and ECO codes follow the lichess opening book (CC0).
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