Two Knights Defense - Bishop Check Line (6.Bb5+)
White checks with 6.Bb5+, so block with ...c6 and recapture ...bxc6, then meet 8.Bd3 with ...Nd5 and ...Nf4 to grab the bishop. Castle, let White take on e5, and push ...c5, even though it lands isolated. Watch for the 8.Ba4 trap where ...Qd4 nets you a piece. You reach the bishop pair against White's isolated and doubled d-pawns.
Let's learn the Bishop Check Line! White jumps its knight to g5, threatening to fork our queen and rook. We strike back with pawn moves and knight play, leaving White's pieces scattered while our king finds safety. Let's begin with 1.e4.
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Scroll the moves: the board follows.
Key lines
The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.
- Main Line
… 11. Re1 Nxd3 12. cxd3 O-O 13. Nxe5 c5
- 8. Qf3
… 7... bxc6 8. Qf3 h6 9. Bxc6+ Nxc6 10. Qxc6+ Bd7 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. Qc4+ Be6
- Trap: 12.Nc3, you win a piece
… 7... bxc6 8. Qf3 h6 9. Ne4 cxb5 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. Qxa8 Qd7 12. Nc3 Nc6 13. Nxb5 Bc5 14. d4 exd4 15. Bxh6 Rxh6 16. O-O-O Kf8
- 8. Qf3
… 7... bxc6 8. Qf3 h6 9. Ne4 cxb5 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. Qxa8 Qd7 12. Qf3 Bb7 13. Qxf6 Rg8 14. Qxe5+ Be7 15. Qb8+ Bd8
- Trap: 8.Ba4, you win a piece
… 7... bxc6 8. Ba4 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Qd4 11. Nxc6 Qxa4 12. Nxa5 Qxa5 13. Nc3 Bd6
- 8. Ba4
… 7... bxc6 8. Ba4 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Qd4 11. Bxc6+ Nxc6 12. Nxc6 Qd5
- 8. Ba4
… 7... bxc6 8. Ba4 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Qe2 Be6 11. Ne5 Qd4 12. Bxc6+ Nxc6 13. Nxc6 Qc5
- 8. Be2
… 7... bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ng1 Bc5 11. d3 Qb6 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 Nd5
- 8. Be2
… 7... bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bc5 11. O-O Qd6 12. Ng4 Bxg4 13. Bxg4 h5
- Trap: 12.Nc4, you win material
… 7... bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bc5 11. O-O Qd6 12. Nc4 Nxc4 13. Bxc4 Ng4 14. g3 Nxf2 15. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 16. Kxf2 Qd4+ 17. Kg2 Qxc4 18. Nc3 O-O
- 8. Be2
… 7... bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bc5 11. c3 O-O 12. d4 exd3 13. Nxd3 Bb6
- 8. Be2
… 7... bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 10. Ne5 Bc5 11. c3 O-O 12. b4 Bd6
- 9. Ne4
… 8... Nd5 9. Ne4 Nf4 10. Qf3 f5 11. Ng3 Nxd3+ 12. cxd3 Bb4
- 9. Ne4
… 8... Nd5 9. Ne4 Nf4 10. O-O f5 11. Ng3 Qd5
- 9. Ne4
… 8... Nd5 9. Ne4 Nf4 10. Bf1 f5 11. Nec3 c5 12. d3 Bb7
- 9. Ne4
… 8... Nd5 9. Ne4 Nf4 10. Bf1 f5 11. Ng3 Bd6 12. d3 c5
- Trap: 12.Kxg2, you win the queen
… 10... Nf4 11. Be2 Nxg2 12. Kxg2 e4 13. Ng1 Qg5+ 14. Bg4 Bxg4 15. Qxg4 Qxg4+ 16. Kh1 Qf4
- 11. Nc3
… 10... Nf4 11. Nc3 Nxd3 12. cxd3 O-O
Other chapters
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. c3 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5
Modern Bishop's Opening (4.d3)
White enters the Italian with Bc4 and settles for the quiet 4.d3. Meet it with ...Be7, castle, and after 6.c3 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5, giving your bishop on e7 more room. Aim for an active, comfortable setup where your pieces develop freely and your d5 knight eyes the center.
18 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 d5 6. Bxd5 Qxd5 7. Nc3 Qd6 8. O-O Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. d3 O-O-O
Italian Variation (4.Nc3)
After 4.Nc3, take the pawn with Nxe4 and meet Nxe4 with d5, hitting bishop and knight at once. Follow up Qxd5, Qd6, Bg4 pinning the knight, and Bh5 to keep it pinned. Castle queenside, then push f5 and f4 with the bishop pair.
9 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 d5 6. Bb5 Bc5 7. d4 exd4 8. Nxd4 O-O
4.O-O Lines
White castles early with 4.O-O, skipping c3, so grab the e4 pawn with ...Nxe4. After 5.Re1 d5 6.Bb5 Bc5, meet 7.d4 with ...exd4, and if 8.Nxd4 castle with O-O. Watch for 5.Re1, a common mistake you punish. You land up a pawn with a strong attack, sometimes even winning material outright.
6 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bxc5 Nxc5 11. Bxc6 Rb8 12. Qxd5 Qe7
Open Variation (4.d4)
White opens the center with 4.d4, steering you into the Scotch Gambit. Meet it with 4...exd4, 5...d5, 6...Ne4 and 7...Bc5, then castle with 8...O-O and defend your knight with 12...Qe7. You land in a position with an isolated c7 pawn against White's queenside majority.
9 lines
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