Chess Drills
Four Knights Game: easy development and clear plans
In the Four Knights Game both sides start in the most natural way: each player brings out both knights towards the centre. It was very popular in the early twentieth century and is still a solid, respectable choice today.
On move four you decide what kind of game it will be. With your bishop to b5 you get a calm game, close to the Ruy Lopez. With the push d2-d4 you open the centre. Black has a sharp answer to the bishop move, and putting the bishop on c4 instead runs into a well-known trick.
Good fit for: Players who want sound, logical development and not too much theory, without giving the opponent many tactical chances.
Drill these 4 lines with spaced repetition: a few minutes a day, and the moves stick.
Key ideas
- Knights before bishops. Both your knights go to their best squares first. Your bishops follow once it is clear where they belong.
- The pin on f6. In many lines you put your bishop on g5. Black's knight on f6 is then pinned (it can't move without exposing the queen behind it). Using that pin, or breaking it, is a theme for both sides.
- Watch your pawn on e4. Your knight on c3 defends e4, but Black can often take the pawn with the knight anyway and win the piece back with a fork (one piece or pawn attacking two at once). Always check whether Black's pawn push to d5 would hit two of your pieces.
- Copying is no guarantee. Black can copy your moves for a while, but the side to move keeps the initiative (the side that makes the threats). If Black copies for too long, it can become dangerous for Black.
The main lines
Spanish Four Knights: your bishop goes to b5
You put your bishop on b5 and Black copies with the bishop to b4. Both sides castle and push the d-pawn one square. Then you pin Black's knight on f6 with your bishop to g5, while the position is still symmetrical.
- Your plan: keep the pin and develop calmly. This is a quiet line where small details matter.
- Good to know: Black usually deals with the pin by taking your knight on c3 and then moving the queen to e7, so the knight is no longer pinned.
- Why g5 first? You are the first to make a threat, so Black has to react to you.
Scotch Four Knights: you open the centre
You push your d-pawn to d4, Black takes, and you take back with the knight. You then trade knights on c6, Black builds a pawn centre on c6 and d5, both sides castle, and you pin the knight on f6 with your bishop to g5.
- Your plan: use the pin and aim your pieces at Black's kingside.
- Good to know: Black gets a solid centre and the b-file with no black pawn on it, which Black's rook can use.
- Good to know: the Scotch Game has related lines without the knights on c3 and f6.
Rubinstein Countergambit: Black's knight jumps to d4
After your bishop goes to b5, Black ignores it and jumps with the knight to d4, attacking the bishop. You move the bishop back to a4 and later take Black's pawn on e5. Black gives up that pawn for quick development and pressure against f2 and along the e-file.
- Good to know: a gambit is giving up material, usually a pawn, for quick development. This one is regarded as a sound way for Black to avoid the quiet symmetrical lines.
- Watch out: both sides need to know the follow-up, so learn it before you play the bishop to b5.
Bishop to c4: why it runs into the fork trick
If you put your bishop on c4, Black can take your e4 pawn with the knight. When you take back, Black pushes the pawn to d5, and that pawn attacks your bishop and your knight at once. Black wins the piece back, material is level, and Black gets free development and a share of the centre.
- Why does this matter? This trick is the reason the bishop to c4 is rarely played against Black's knight on f6.
- Your plan: choose the bishop to b5 or the push d2-d4 on move four instead.
Questions
Is the Four Knights Game boring?
It has a reputation for being drawish, but that is mostly at the very top. At club level there is plenty of play, and lines like the Rubinstein Countergambit are very sharp.
Is the Four Knights Game good for beginners?
Yes. It follows the basic rules of development, avoids a lot of early tactics, and teaches typical ideas such as pins, the fork trick and play in the centre.
Which fourth move should I learn?
The bishop to b5 leads to quiet positions like in the Ruy Lopez. The push d2-d4 gives more open, active play. Choose one and learn Black's main answers to it.
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