King Pawn Openings: Two Knights' Defense

When Considering the Giuoco Piano opening and its variations every player will notice that White will be able to maintain the initiative, after having secured it early in the game, and retain this advantage for a time. Sometimes, White must make certain sacrifices like losing a Pawn to Black in order to keep this advantage in a game of chess.

One thing that Black can do to avoid getting into this type of predicament is to develop the Knights in the opening. Here is where the Two Knights Defense comes in handy for Black. There are those who classify this defensive opening as a gambit, but since we generally classify chess openings that start the game with P - K4, P - K4 as a King Pawn opening then we'll put it under the latter category.

The Two Knights Defense goes like: 1 P - K4, P - K4; 2 Kt - KB3, Kt - QB3; 3 B - B4, Kt - B3. If we were to look at this defensive opening like a gambit, players will easily notice that the Two Knights Defense has certain differences with how other gambits play out in the early stages of the game. This opening would require Black to sacrifice a Pawn in the process. But, in return for that little token, Black is able to have an influence over the course of events in the rest of the game. Another great benefit from the Two Knights' Defense is attaining a good position for the chess pieces.

So a continuation for the Two Knights' Defense would be 4 Kt - Kt 5, P - Q4. So with that offer (and a challenge to wit) the correct reply for White would have to be 5 P x P. Now this situation brings us to Black's options in the next move. Though, it is indeed playable, most players would not opt for a 5 ... Kt x P.

This move is playable, but the only forewarning we'd like to give is that if you are not familiar with how to play such an option then carry on with a different approach. Such an approach should be played by those with far more experience than that of a beginner. Taking White's Pawn will lead to several pitfalls that a beginner couldn't exactly foresee due to the lack of experience.

The normal, and most likely the usual, variation for the Two Knights' Defense will have to be: 5 ... Kt - QR4. The rest of the usual moves you'll see for this defense would have to be:

6 B - Kt5 ch, P - B3 7 P x P, P x P 8 B - K2, P - KR3 9 Kt - KB3, P - K5 10 Kt - K5, B - Q3

Of course there will be other variations for the Two Knights Defense that you'll find along the way. Gambit or not, the Two Knights' Defense is one of the chess openings that require a little subtlety for both sides.