- ECO code
- C40
- Moves
- 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
- Family
- King's Knight Opening
- To move
- Black
- Master games
- 21,895
- Average game length
- 44 moves
- Years covered
- 1848–2026
King's Knight Opening is the opening filed under ECO code C40, reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3. It belongs to the King's Knight Opening family; in the resulting position it is Black to move.
Katuranga's collection of 138,070 master games contains 21,895 games on this line — the 6th 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 8,637 games. An average game here lasts 44 moves.
White wins 34% of those games, 42% end in a draw, and Black wins 24%. Compared with the collection average (White 37%, draws 35%, Black 28%), Black scores worse here by 4 percentage points. Draws are more common here than usual, by 7 points.
From this position the most popular move is 2...Nc6, played in 19,295 games, followed by 2...Nf6 (2,341) and 2...d6 (215). 2...Nc6 leads into King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation. After 2...Nc6 White scores 34% and Black 25%.
The name that appears most often on the White side of this line is Vachier Lagrave,M (1,037 games); on the Black side, Nakamura,Hi (833).
24 named variations branch off this position and have their own page here, among them King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation; Ruy Lopez; Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense.
Reading about an opening is not the same as knowing it. Play this line against the Katuranga bot, then let the engine mark your brilliant moves, mistakes and blunders in Analysis — the fastest way to find out which of these moves you actually understand.
Results in master games
- White 34% (7,420)
- Draws 42% (9,154)
- Black 24% (5,321)
Most played continuations
| Move | Games | White / draws / Black | Leads into |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2...Nc6 | 19,295 | 34/41/25 | King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation |
| 2...Nf6 | 2,341 | 33/50/17 | Petrov's Defense |
| 2...d6 | 215 | 44/29/27 | — |
| 2...d5 | 19 | 63/11/26 | — |
| 2...f5 | 17 | 59/12/29 | — |
| 2...Bc5 | 2 | 100/0/0 | — |
| 2...c6 | 2 | 100/0/0 | — |
| 2...b6 | 1 | 100/0/0 | — |
Variations from this position
- Normal Variation · 2...Nc6 · 19,295 games
- Ruy Lopez · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 · 12,516 games
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 · 8,064 games
- Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O · 5,861 games
- Italian Game · 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 · 4,424 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 · 3,942 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 · 3,599 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 · 2,916 games
- Italian Game: Giuoco Piano · 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 · 2,675 games
- Petrov's Defense · 2...Nf6 · 2,341 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O · 1,850 games
- Petrov's Defense · 2...Nf6 3.Nxe5 · 1,694 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio Gambit Accepted · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 · 1,680 games
- Italian Game: Two Knights Defense · 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 · 1,656 games
- Petrov's Defense · 2...Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 · 1,655 games
- Petrov's Defense · 2...Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 · 1,578 games
- Petrov's Defense · 2...Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 · 1,578 games
- Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Anti-Berlin Variation · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 · 1,575 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O · 1,424 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 2...Nc6 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 · 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 · 1,354 games
- Ruy Lopez: Closed · 2...Nc6 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 · 2...Nc6 3.Nc3 · 1,180 games
- Italian Game: Classical Variation · 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 · 1,161 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
Played most often by
As White
- Vachier Lagrave,M 1,037
- Caruana,F 711
- Nepomniachtchi,I 669
As Black
- Nakamura,Hi 833
- Aronian,L 816
- So,W 658
Games per decade
- 1840s 8
- 1850s 203
- 1860s 242
- 1870s 114
- 1880s 127
- 1890s 387
- 1900s 507
- 1910s 386
- 1920s 381
- 1930s 230
- 1940s 276
- 1950s 429
- 1960s 581
- 1970s 448
- 1980s 575
- 1990s 1,020
- 2000s 2,528
- 2010s 4,816
- 2020s 8,637
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?
It is the opening with ECO code C40, reached after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3. It belongs to the King's Knight Opening family.
Is the King's Knight Opening good for White or for Black?
In 21,895 master games on this line White wins 34%, 42% are drawn and Black wins 24%. 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?
2...Nc6 — played in 19,295 of the master games on this line, which leads into King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation.
Which grandmasters play the King's Knight Opening?
On the White side Vachier Lagrave,M (1,037), Caruana,F (711), Nepomniachtchi,I (669); on the Black side Nakamura,Hi (833), Aronian,L (816), So,W (658).
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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