Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Tartakower Attack

13/13
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.b4Bxb45.c3Ba56.d4d67.Qb3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Tartakower Attack44k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
53%23k53%
33%15k40%
7.2%3.2k39%
1.5%66830%
1.3%55229%
1.1%50029%
0.8%34633%
0.7%33030%
0.4%16539%
0.3%15336%
Famous games in this line421 master games
Nakamura, Hi (2775) – Anand, V. (2793)2014½–½Li Chao2 (2751) – Ding Liren (2766)20160–1Mamedyarov, S. (2747) – Ding Liren (2766)2016½–½Vidit, S. (2724) – So, W. (2760)2022½–½Nisipeanu, LD. (2654) – Caruana, F. (2805)20150–1Adhiban, Baskaran (2665) – Le Quang Liem (2718)20160–1Short, N. (2678) – Fressinet, L. (2702)2015½–½Idani, P. (2602) – Radjabov, T. (2723)20231–0
Heroes of this opening Ding Liren · Caruana, F. · Le Quang Liem · Idani, P.
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. d4 d6 7. Qb3
GambitAggressiveClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Levenfish Variation7…Qd7 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.O-O Bb6 10.Ba3 …
Nearby lines in the family
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4 …Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Cracow Variation4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4 …Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Canal Variation3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 …
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
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