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Four Knights Game: Scotch Four Knights — Part 1 of 2

Hou–Aronian, FIDE World Cup 2017 · Nakamura–Caruana, FIDE Grand Swiss 2023 · 7:48 · ECO C47

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In this video

Game 1: Hou Yifan (2670) vs Levon Aronian (2802)

FIDE World Cup 2017, 8 September 2017 · Black won (0-1) · 55 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 7...O-OThe first move after the opening line0:34
  2. 26.Nxf4The queens come off1:59
  3. 46.Rc7Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:39
  4. 47.Re7The evaluation moves from −2.87 to −4.793:44
  5. 55...d3Black wins after 55 moves4:26

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Hikaru Nakamura (2780) vs Fabiano Caruana (2786)

FIDE Grand Swiss 2023, 4 November 2023 · White won (1-0) · 40 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 7...d5The first move after the opening line5:00
  2. 28...Qb1+White stays more than two pawns ahead from here6:38
  3. 29...Qf5The evaluation moves from +2.09 to +5.006:42
  4. 32...gxf4The queens come off6:58
  5. 36.Bxd8The evaluation moves from +5.21 to +4.107:15
  6. 40.Bd2White wins after 40 moves7:35

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 6.Nxc6 bxc6, Black has doubled c-pawns but extra central pawns and a half-open b-file, while 5...Bb4 pins the c3-knight and so adds to the pressure on e4. With 7.Bd3, White defends e4, prepares to castle and aims at the kingside. Black usually strikes at the centre with ...d5, though castling first is also played.

Hou Yifan–Aronian went 7...O-O and 8...Re8, delaying ...d5. White pinned with 9.Bg5, kept the pin with 10.Bh4, then pushed 11.f4, 19.f5 and 20.f6 to drive a pawn towards the black king. After the queens came off with 26.Nxf4, the score was −0.25 at 27.Kh2. Black's king and knight became more active: 33...Rxf6 won the f-pawn, 36...Nxa3 a queenside pawn, and at 37.Ra5 the score was −4.40. The reply 37...Nb1 let it drop to −0.84, but from 46.Rc7 Black stayed more than two pawns ahead, and 47.Re7 took it to −4.79. Aronian collected the c-pawn with 49...Nxc2, and the passed d-pawn decided after 55...d3. Black won.

Nakamura–Caruana followed the main line, 7...d5 8.exd5 O-O 9.O-O cxd5 10.h3, and 11...c5 gave Black hanging pawns on c5 and d5. After 14...Ne4 15.Bxe4 dxe4, Black's centre pawn stood on e4. Unlike the slow pawn advance of Game 1, White attacked with pieces: queen to g3, 18.Rd6, then 21.Bxh6 to open the black king. At 22.Qxe4 the score was +1.93. White stayed more than two pawns ahead from 28...Qb1+, and 29...Qf5 raised it from +2.09 to +5.00. After the queen trade 32.Qxf4 (+5.13), 33.Bg7+ and 36.Bxd8 left White a piece up. White won.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Hou vs Aronian, FIDE World Cup 2017
  3. 4:35Game 2: Nakamura vs Caruana, FIDE Grand Swiss 2023

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3

See every video from this position →