Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4
The Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C50, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 19,634 times by this move order. White won 46%, 4% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nxd4 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.07 (Stockfish, depth 54; best line 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. O-O c6 6. Re1 d6)
- ECO
- C50
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/2BnP3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 4 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 10,788 | |
| 1500-1999 | 8,481 | |
| 2000+ | 365 | |
| All | 19,634 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nxd4 | 7,787 (40%) | |
| 4. Nxe5 | 4,675 (24%) | |
| 4. c3 | 2,184 (11%) | |
| 4. d3 | 1,696 (9%) | |
| 4. O-O | 1,675 (9%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 773 (4%) | |
| 4. Bxf7+ | 473 (2%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 264 (1%) |
Master games
198 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 54%, draw 9%, Black 37%). The strongest:
- IM Alexei Saveliev (2352) – FM Jorge Carlos Antonio (2277) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Aug · 2020-08-25
- WIM Olga Zhuravleva (2278) – FM Jorge Carlos Antonio (2277) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 18th Aug · 2020-08-18
- IM Robert Aloma Vidal (2437) – WFM Fruzsina Szente Varga (2100) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 1st Dec · 2020-12-01
- FM Rafal Tymrakiewicz (2253) – FM Jorge Carlos Antonio (2277) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 4th Aug 10am · 2020-08-04
- CM Moulaye Brahim Hemam (2043) – IM Justin Sarkar (2350) 0-1 · Titled Tue 11th Oct Late · 2022-10-11
Search all games of the Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- orih0z0z (2435) – tm313 (2395) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Artin1112 (2403) – Krethickplayschess (2384) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- indayrhonda (2338) – LukiZuki1990 (2406) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4
More Italian Game lines (all)
- Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense C50
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Albin Gambit C50
- Italian Game: Deutz Gambit C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (3… Bc5 4. d3) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5… d6 6. d3) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5. O-O O-O) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5… O-O 6. d3) C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Dubois Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Normal C50
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.