Italian Game: Classical Variation (4. c3 Nf6)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6
The Italian Game: Classical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C54, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 26,721 times by this move order. White won 52%, 4% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 5. d4 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.13 (Stockfish, depth 54; best line 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 O-O)
- ECO
- C54
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/2b1p3/2B1P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 10,264 | |
| 1500-1999 | 13,450 | |
| 2000+ | 3,007 | |
| All | 26,721 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. d4 Classical Variation, Center Attack | 14,770 (55%) | |
| 5. d3 Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (4… Nf6 5. d3) | 8,425 (32%) | |
| 5. O-O | 1,401 (5%) | |
| 5. b4 Bird's Attack | 856 (3%) | |
| 5. Ng5 | 512 (2%) | |
| 5. Qe2 | 244 (1%) | |
| 5. Qb3 | 127 (0%) | |
| 5. Bxf7+ | 94 (0%) |
Master games
183 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 18%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- IM Jonathan Westerberg (2534) – GM Victor Mikhalevski (2552) 0-1 · European Online CC GpE · 2021-03-28
- IM Patrik Lyrberg (2460) – GM Sune Berg Hansen (2580) 0-1 · TCh-SWE Elitserien · 2018-03-16
- IM S Aswath (2352) – GM Eltaj Safarli (2595) 1/2-1/2 · 14th Vojvodina Open 2024 · 2024-07-01
- GM Luis Galego (2495) – IM Michal Luch (2426) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-POR Div 1 Final · 2012-06-25
- GM Valentina Gunina (2526) – WFM Yiyi Xiao (2345) 1-0 · CHN-RUS Women Blitz 2018 · 2018-05-26
Search all games of the Italian Game: Classical Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- LuckyStar2011 (2840) – GM xiaochess (2943) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- GM Kiborg95 (2779) – Sunrise34 (2855) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Superstitions_Guy (2775) – kuhmft (2855) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Classical Variation (3… Bc5 4. c3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3
Continuations
- Italian Game: Bird's Attack C53 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. b4
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Center Attack C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (4… Nf6 5. d3) C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3
More Italian Game lines (all)
- Italian Game C50
- Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense C50
- Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit 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
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.