Chess Openings - The King's Knight Opening
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1. e4 e5
2. Nf3
After an advance of both king pawns, 1. e4 e5, white's most common next move is to advance the king's knight: 2. Nf3. This is The King's Knight Opening. Nf3 is the most logical choice for white out of the open game - for several reasons:
- The knight attacks two key central squares, including black's pawn.
- Attacking the pawn forces black to respond to the threat.
- The kingside is opened to allow for future castling.
- As a general rule, it is advisable to develop knights before bishops.
- The best square for the king's knight is usually f3.
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2... Nc6
Black must now deal with the threat on his pawn. The most common response is to defend with the queen's knight: 2... Nc6. This is a strong response for a few reasons:
- It defends the pawn by developing a piece.
- The knight is placed on a strong square, attacking two central squares.
- It develops a knight before a bishop.
- It opens up the queenside for possible future castling (although, it should be noted that kingside castling is usually stronger than queenside castling).
How Common is the King's Knight Opening?
Very Common at all Levels
From the Open Game, the advance of the king's knight (2. Nf3) is by far the most commonly played continuation (and probably the strongest move possible). White plays the move about 80% of the time. Similarly, black responds with 2... Nc6 about 80% of the time.
White's Next Move
White is left with the choice of a number of well known openings. We will look at the main three: the Spanish, Italian, and Scotch Games.
Afterwards, we will take a look at some alternative defenses that black can employ against 2. Nf3: the Philidor Defense and Petrov Defense.