Italian Game: Classical Variation, Center Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4
The Italian Game: Classical Variation, Center Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C54, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4. It is a line of the Italian Game. Black is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 14,770 times by this move order. White won 53%, 5% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 5… exd4 (94% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 5… exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4)
- ECO
- C54
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/2b1p3/2BPP3/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5,961 | |
| 1500-1999 | 7,292 | |
| 2000+ | 1,517 | |
| All | 14,770 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… exd4 | 13,930 (94%) | |
| 5… Bb6 | 313 (2%) | |
| 5… Bd6 | 128 (1%) | |
| 5… d6 | 100 (1%) | |
| 5… O-O | 89 (1%) | |
| 5… d5 | 67 (0%) | |
| 5… Nxe4 | 60 (0%) | |
| 5… Be7 | 31 (0%) |
Master games
46 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 67%, draw 7%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- IM Nitish Belurkar (2479) – FM Tuna Ozates (2202) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-13
- FM Jean Marco Cruz Mendez (2270) – WIM Viktoriya Tarasova (2226) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Jun Early · 2023-06-13
- FM Goumas, G. (2407) – Hristodoulaki, A. (2001) 1-0 · 19th Heraklion Open 2017 · 2017-01-04
- FM Manuel Larrea (2235) – Serkan Salik (1986) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 6th Apr · 2021-04-06
- Federico Noto (2156) – CM Christian Gabriel Allen Leydenz (2058) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-06
Search all games of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Center Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- GM athena-pallada (2877) – Kruciatos (2733) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM AngelitoRT (2889) – Kruciatos (2679) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- GM athena-pallada (2881) – Kruciatos (2681) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Classical Variation (4. c3 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6
Continuations
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Dubov Italian C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. b4
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Modern Line (5… exd4 6. e5) C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Traditional Line C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4
- Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit C56 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O
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.