Acers,
Jude and George S. Laven. The Italian
Gambit System.
Trafford Publishing, 2003. Gives relatively recent though
generally rather shallow coverage of practically every
line in the Open Two Knights (with White d4). Does offer
some useful insights on the Koltanowski Gambit and related
lines. The additional repertoire material is not especially
worthwhile, except perhaps for beginning players.
Baker,
Chris. A Startling Chess Opening Repertoire. London:
Everyman Chess, 1998. Useful (if overly selective) coverage
of the Max Lange Attack and Koltanowski Gambit from the
White perspective. The remaining repertoire is fairly
useful if generally more safe than "startling."
Beliavsky,
Alexander and Adrian Mikhalchishin. The
Two Knights Defense.
London: Batsford, 1999. Very poorly put together book
(seems rushed to the publisher) with occasionally strong
moments. Uses sample games and some analysis to cover
practically every line in the Two Knights. Does offer
occasional strong insights, though, so worth checking
out despite numerous problems.
Emms,
John. Play the Open Games as Black: What to Do When
White Avoids the Ruy Lopez. London: Gambit, 2000.
Excellent coverage of all Two Knights lines from the
Black perspective.
Estrin,
Yakov. The Two Knights Defense. Trans. K. P.
Neat. London: Batsford 1983. There are various versions
in multiple languages and editions of Estrin's work.
Estrin's analysis became widely circulated in multiple
editions and languages through the 70s and 80s. It is
still vital and valuable, especially since some lines
he discusses receive scant treatment later.
Harding,
Tim. The Evans Gambit and a System versus the Two
Knights Defense. Second Edition. Chess Digest,
1996. A very useful if selective repertoire coverage
of the Modern d4/e5 lines of the Two Knights.
Nunn,
John. Secrets of Grandmaster Chess. 1997. pp.77-87. Discusses
the game Corden-Nunn, Birmingham 1975 in great depth.
Petrosian,
Tigran and Yakov Estrin. Zweispringerspiel im Nachzuge.
Hamburg 1966.
Pinski,
Jan. The Two Knights Defense. London: Everyman
Chess, 2003. Probably the most generally useful current
book available. The analysis
is generally shallow.
Soltis,
Andrew. Winning with the Giuoco
Piano and the Max Lange Attack. 2nd Revised Edition.
Chess Digest, 1996 (1st edition 1992). Offers some surprising
analysis from White's perspective of the Max Lange lines,
though I wonder how well it holds up to close scrutiny
since it does seem overly optimistic.
Van
der Tak, A. C. and Jesus Nogueiras. "King's Pawn Opening:
Max Lange Attack." New in Chess
Yearbook 37 (1995): 94-99. One of a number of articles
to appear in New in Chess and NIC Yearbook. See their
website for details.
Weeramantry,
Sunil. "Opening Preparation." Chess Cafe's The Chess
Coach 13. Download
a zip file. Discusses the Two Knights Modern.
Zagorovsky,
Vladimir. Romantic Chess Openings. London: Batsford
1982. A classic, if now generally out of date and shallow.
Max
Lange and Main Lines (5.O-O)
Hard
Chess by Mark Morss
USCF Senior Master Mark Morss has written several articles
on the Two Knights Defense as part of his Hard Chess column
for the Campbell Report web site. They include very extensive
annotations and commentary, mainly of the author's own
games. I recommend them for close study of particular
lines.
A
Lazy Player's Guide to the Scotch Gambit
This web site includes good coverage of the Two Knights
Defense by way of transposition from the Scotch Gambit.
Ataque
Max Lange by Marata Linges Dante
Spanish-language analysis from Hechiceros.
Max
Lange Attack from NJSCF site by Pete Tamburro
Good introduction to the main lines for amateur players.
Interesting
Byways in the Classic Open Games by Tim Harding
A useful discussion of the literature on the Modern
Two Knights.
The
Scotch Gambit from Tromso Sjakklubb
Good analysis for club players.
Max
Zavanelli and the Sleeping Beauty
by Victor Palciauskas.
This is a fascinating game in the Max Lange annotated
by Max Zavanelli himself, with Palciaskas's introduction.
Worth playing over. Also available from Palciauskas's
web site.
Modern
Variation (5.e5)
Exeter
Chess Club Opening Handouts on the Two Knights Defense
Covers the Two Knights from the Black perspective, along
with ways of playing against White alternatives.
C55 from the Tromso Sjakklubb
Good coverage of the Keidanz lines for the club player.
More
about the Two Knights Modern by Mark Morss
"Opening
Preparation" by Sunil Weeramantry, in Chess Cafe's
The Chess Coach 13. Download
a zip file.
Other
Lines
Two
Knights Defense, Wilkes-Barre Variation
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Ke7 and
6.Bd5
. .. See also the 6.Bb3
Line.
Two
Knights Defense and a Repertoire as Black from the
Exeter Chess Club
A useful overview of lines for the beginner to club
player.
Defensa
de los Dos Caballos from Hechiceros
Focuses on 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5
Na5.
Two
Knights -- Amazing Counter-Attack by Tim Harding
Covers 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Nxe4!?
Opening
Lanes #62 by Gary Lane
Discusses 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5
Na5.
Two
Knights Defense by Tim Harding
In three parts, covering the classic 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5.
Part
One, Part
Two, and Part
Three.
Site
dedie a l'ouverture Traxler
In French with lots of Traxler stuff from the Black perspective.
The
Fegatello Attack by Paul Valle
A complete analysis of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! 6.Nxf7!?
