Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Main Line
10/10
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.b4Bxb45.c3Ba5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Main Line1.2M games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
70%823k55%
12%137k52%
1.2%14k46%
0.1%1.7k41%
0.1%1.1k40%
0.1%73441%
0.1%66540%
0%43443%
0%38523%
Famous games in this line889 master games
Carlsen, M. (2830) – Anand, V. (2751)Nakamura, Hi (2775) – Anand, V. (2793)Vachier Lagrave, M. (2774) – So, W. (2767)Li Chao2 (2751) – Ding Liren (2766)Mamedyarov, S. (2747) – Ding Liren (2766)Short, Nigel D (2698) – Kasparov, Garry (2812)Morozevich, Alexander (2745) – Adams, Michael (2746)Vidit, S. (2724) – So, W. (2760)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, M. · Vachier Lagrave, M. · Ding Liren · Kasparov, Garry
- 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
GambitClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Slow Variation6.O-O · 5 deeper linesItalian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense6.d4 exd4 · 8 deeper linesItalian Game: Evans Gambit, Bronstein Defense6.d4 d6 · 3 deeper linesItalian Game: Evans Gambit, Laroche Variation6.d4 Nf6
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