Black Knights' Tango

The Black Knights' Tango begins 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6. Black brings both knights out immediately and postpones the decision about the d- and e-pawns. That flexibility allows ...e5, ...e6 followed by ...d5, or piece and pawn arrangements resembling other defenses to 1.d4.

A transposition occurs when different move orders reach the same position. The Tango has many of them and may eventually be classified as another queen's-pawn defense depending on how both sides continue. Recognizing the plans is therefore more useful than treating the name as a closed sequence.

Black Knights' Tango: canonical line

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

h8

g

f

e

d

c

b

a

Start

d4

Nf6

c4

Nc6

The line begins from the starting position

The board replays every move in the notation maintained by the article, without adding continuations.

The c6-knight pressures d4 and e5, but it temporarily blocks Black's c-pawn. White can also gain space, meaning control more squares, by playing d5 and force the knight to choose a new square. Black aims to turn that advance into a target or use it as a reason to strike the central squares with ...e5.

Not every position with both black knights developed is a Tango. The recognized starting point is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6. If Black later plays ...e6 and ...Bb4+, play may approach the Bogo-Indian, Nimzowitsch Variation, but the transposition depends on White's replies.