The Three Knights Game is a chess opening

Chess opening

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...

 which most commonly begins with the moves:

1. e4 e5

2. Nf3 Nc6

3. Nc3

In the Three Knights Game, Black chooses to break symmetry in order to avoid the main lines of what is often considered the drawish

Draw (chess)

In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...

 Four Knights Game

Four Knights Game

The Four Knights Game is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The opening is fairly popular with beginners who strictly adhere to the opening principle: "Develop knights before bishops." It was one of the workhorses in the family of the Open Game, at even the highest levels, until World War...

 after the usual 3...Nf6.

Black's third move

After tries such as 3...d6 or 3...Be7, White can play 4.d4, leaving Black with a cramped position resembling Philidor's Defense

Philidor Defence

The Philidor Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:It is named after the famous 18th-century player François-André Danican Philidor, who advocated it as an alternative to the common 2...Nc6...

. If Black plays 3...Bc5 instead, White can eliminate Black's outpost at e5: 4.Nxe5 Nxe5 5.d4 Bd6 6.dxe5 Bxe5. Since tournament praxis shows the line seems to favor White, Black usually plays 3...Bb4 or 3...g6. Continuations then are typically 3...Bb4 4.Nd5 and 3...g6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5.

Another alternative for Black is 3...f5!? – the Winawer Defense (or Gothic Defense). Then 4.Bb5 transposes into the Schliemann variation of the Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez

The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...

 with 4.Nc3.

The Three Knights is almost never seen at master

Chess master

A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....

level nowadays, as Black players have sought more active tries, even within the Four Knights.