← All openings
C51 · Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation, Cordel Line

12/12
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.b4Bxb45.c3Be76.d4Na5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation, Cordel Line66k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
Bd331%20k48%
Nxe526%17k47%
Bxf7+25%16k43%
Be29.7%6.4k49%
Bb32.8%1.9k40%
Bb52.1%1.4k48%
O-O1.3%84024%
Qa40.9%57647%
Nbd20.6%39835%
Bd50.4%25932%
Famous games in this line363 master games
Caruana, Fabiano (2835)So, Wesley (2770)20200–1Kasparov, Garry (2805)Anand, Viswanathan (2715)19951–0Kryvoruchko, Y. (2707)Karjakin, Sergey (2771)20140–1Kasparov, Garry (2805)Short, Nigel D (2655)1993½–½Vachier Lagrave, M. (2762)Malakhov, V. (2694)2014½–½Short, Nigel D (2698)Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (2713)20120–1Fressinet, Laurent (2707)Efimenko, Zahar (2701)2011½–½Short, Nigel D (2683)Svidler, Peter (2672)2000½–½
Heroes of this opening So, Wesley · Kasparov, Garry · Karjakin, Sergey · Bruzon Batista, Lazaro
Keep exploring
Nearby lines in the family
From the archives

The Italian Game is in the Göttingen manuscript and Polerio's notebooks — chess players have been putting the bishop on c4 for more than four centuries. It fell out of top-level fashion for decades, then returned as a main weapon of Carlsen and Caruana, proving the oldest plans still bite.

Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C51
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 6. d4 Na5
GambitClassical
Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines
Study this opening elsewhere