Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Showalter Variation

11/11
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.b4Bb65.a4a66.Nc3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Showalter Variation10k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
52%5.3k51%
33%3.4k49%
8.5%87246%
1.8%18641%
1.8%18450%
1.1%11451%
0.8%7944%
0.5%5636%
0.4%4649%
0.2%2534%
Famous games in this line78 master games
Grischuk, A. (2750) – Carlsen, M. (2832)20170–1Morozevich, Alexander (2788) – Kamsky, Gata (2723)20080–1Wei, Yi (2551) – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2775)2013½–½Wei Yi (2607) – Harikrishna, P. (2706)2014½–½Petrosian, Tigran L (2629) – Tkachiev, Vladislav (2664)20081–0Negi, Parimarjan (2620) – Milov, Vadim (2652)20090–1Aditya, Mittal (2595) – Sanal, V. (2595)20231–0Negi, Parimarjan (2620) – Kotsur, Pavel (2568)20090–1
Heroes of this opening Carlsen, M. · Kamsky, Gata · Petrosian, Tigran L · Milov, Vadim
Family
Italian Game
Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C51
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. a4 a6 6. Nc3
GambitClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →
Keep exploring
Nearby lines in the family
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Slow Variation4…Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.O-OItalian Game: Scotch Gambit, Nakhmanson Gambit3…Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Nc3Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Lolli Attack3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.d4
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
Open in the opening tree →Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: Italian Game ↗