C50 · Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation
11/11
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.d3Nf65.Nc3d66.Bg5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation944k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
h652%489k51%
Bg421%201k46%
Be613%124k50%
O-O7.8%74k36%
a61.7%16k47%
Na51.5%14k55%
Nd40.8%7.8k41%
Ne70.5%4.4k49%
Bb40.3%3.2k56%
Qe70.3%2.4k36%
Famous games in this line442 master games
Harikrishna, P. (2763) – Nakamura, Hi (2787)Harikrishna, P. (2726) – Giri, A. (2750)Macieja, Bartlomiej (2613) – Adams, Michael (2740)Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter (2687) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2659)Short, Nigel D (2687) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2659)Abasov, N. (2632) – Nihal, Sarin (2688)Belozerov, A. (2528) – Yu Yangyi (2764)Savchenko, B. (2610) – Vallejo Pons, F. (2677)Heroes of this opening Harikrishna, P. · Short, Nigel D · Abasov, N. · Vallejo Pons, F.
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.
- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C50
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5
Classical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →Study this opening elsewhere