Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line
16/16
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.c3Nf65.d4exd46.cxd4Bb4+7.Nc3Nxe48.O-OBxc3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line411k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
56%230k43%
0.6%2.3k41%
0.2%79329%
0.2%76137%
0.1%53056%
0.1%40936%
0.1%34847%
0.1%23410%
0%1539%
Famous games in this line200 master games
Van Foreest, Jorden (2688) – Aronian, L. (2782)Gashimov, Vugar (2740) – Dominguez Perez, Leinier (2713)Dzindzichashvili, Roman (2530) – Karpov, Anatoly (2715)Beerdsen, Thomas (2496) – L'Ami, E. (2627)Felgaer, Ruben (2561) – Lafuente, Pablo (2524)Iuldachev, Saidali (2526) – Nguyen, Anh Dung (2525)Chen, Qi b (2485) – Zhang Pengxiang (2564)Rogers, Ian (2515) – Garcia Gonzales, Guillermo (2495)Heroes of this opening Van Foreest, Jorden · L'Ami, E. · Lafuente, Pablo · Nguyen, Anh Dung
- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C54
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3
GambitClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack9.d5 · 2 deeper linesItalian Game: Giuoco Piano, Steinitz Variation9.bxc3 d5 10.Ba3Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack9.d5 Bf6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Rxe4 d6 …Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Therkatz-Herzog Variation9.d5 Bf6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Rxe4 d6 …
Nearby lines in the family
From the archives
The Italian Game appears in the Göttingen manuscript (c. 1500) and in Polerio's notebooks — chess players have been putting the bishop on c4 for more than five hundred years. It fell out of top-level fashion for decades, then came back as White players went looking for a way round the Berlin Defence; Carlsen used the quiet Giuoco Pianissimo in the 2016 world-championship match.
Study this opening