Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Lasker Defense
14/14
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.b4Bxb45.c3Ba56.O-Od67.d4Bb6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Lasker Defense23k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
38%8.5k46%
23%5.1k43%
9.2%2.1k36%
5%1.1k35%
4.6%1.1k45%
4.4%1.0k48%
4.2%94951%
3.9%87646%
2.6%59444%
1.8%40545%
Famous games in this line24 master games
Kogan, Artur (2580) – Anand, Viswanathan (2788)Annageldyev, Orazly (2485) – Ivanov, Victor L (2450)Gunnarsson, Jon Viktor (2400) – Sorin, Ariel (2502)Leniart, Arkadiusz (2360) – Szabo, Krisztian (2508)Dembo, Yelena (2464) – Atalik, Ekaterina (2393)Djurhuus, Rune (2405) – Stefansson, Hannes (2420)Blaskowski, Johannes (2326) – Ovod, Evgenija (2440)Petrov, Peter (2325) – Shelk, Alexander (2360)Heroes of this opening Anand, Viswanathan · Annageldyev, Orazly · Gunnarsson, Jon Viktor · Szabo, Krisztian
- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C52
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 Bb6
GambitClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →Keep exploring
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.
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