Italian Game: Two Knights Defense

also known as: Prussian Defense

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6

Named after

Named for Black's two developed knights — though its soul belongs to the Italians who analyzed it and to Chigorin, its great champion.

Origin

Analyzed by Giulio Cesare Polerio in the 1580s; the critical 4.Ng5 assault on f7 has been debated ever since.

The story

3...Nf6 is less a defense than a counterattack — Bronstein suggested it should be called the "Two Knights Counterattack," since Black invites 4.Ng5, when the sound reply 4...d5 leads to positions where Black sacrifices a pawn (the Polerio/main line) for furious activity. The greedy alternative 5...Nxd5?! walks into the Fried Liver Attack, 6.Nxf7!?, dragging the king into the center — four hundred years of scholastic players have learned that lesson the hard way. Steinitz insisted 4.Ng5 was a "duffer's move"; Fischer disagreed; the argument is still running.

Why it matters

The sharpest branch of the Italian complex: Black refuses passivity and fights for the initiative from move three. A rite of passage for every improving player learning about f7, tempo and the price of pawn-grabbing.

Notable games

• Polerio's 16th-century analysis
• Morphy's Two Knights games
• Fischer–Bisguier, New York 1963