Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (7. a4 Ba7)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7
The Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo is a chess opening classified as ECO C54, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7. 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 8 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 8. b4 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.14 (Stockfish, depth 53; best line 8. h3 O-O 9. Nbd2 h6 10. Re1 Re8)
- ECO
- C54
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/bpp2ppp/p1np1n2/4p3/P1B1P3/2PP1N2/1P3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 1 8- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 8 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. b4 | 4 (50%) | |
| 8. Nbd2 | 1 (13%) | |
| 8. h3 | 1 (13%) | |
| 8. Re1 | 1 (13%) | |
| 8. Na3 | 1 (13%) |
Master games
350 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 36%, draw 31%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2800) 1/2-1/2 · GCT Blitz Paris 2017 · 2017-06-25
- GM Viswanathan Anand (2770) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) 0-1 · GCT Blitz YourNextMove · 2016-06-20
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2855) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2770) 1-0 · GCT Rapid YourNextMove · 2016-06-18
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2760) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2837) 1/2-1/2 · 9th London Classic 2017 · 2017-12-03
- GM Anish Giri (2782) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2804) 1/2-1/2 · GCT Rapid YourNextMove · 2016-06-17
Search all games of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- RKNC (2598) – gedchess (2502) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- CM PurposeLess2014 (2500) – ACM245 (2495) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Zimarov (2298) – IM walaasarwat (2381) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (6… a6 7. a4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4
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.