Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (6… O-O 7. O-O)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O
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. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O. It is a line of the Italian Game. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 19 times by this move order. White won 37%, 0% were drawn and Black won 63%. The most popular continuation is 7… Be6 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.08 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 7… a5 8. h3 h6 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bb5)
- ECO
- C54
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/2b1p3/2B1P3/2PP1N2/PP1N1PPP/R1BQ1RK1 b - - 3 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 11 | |
| All | 19 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Be6 | 7 (37%) | |
| 7… a6 | 5 (26%) | |
| 7… h6 | 4 (21%) | |
| 7… Re8 | 1 (5%) | |
| 7… Ne7 | 1 (5%) | |
| 7… Qe7 | 1 (5%) |
Master games
105 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 34%, Black 26%). The strongest:
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2763) – GM Liren Ding (2805) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Rapid 2019 · 2019-08-10
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2739) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2777) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2018 · 2018-08-15
- GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2731) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2749) 1-0 · Champions Showdown Blitz · 2019-02-24
- GM Leinier Dominguez Perez (2758) – GM Vladimir Potkin (2583) 1-0 · World Blitz 2019 · 2019-12-29
- GM Rauf Mamedov (2659) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2650) 1/2-1/2 · 82nd Tata Steel GpB · 2020-01-14
Search all games of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Fun4allofus (2549) – You_Are_All_Weak (2498) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 0s
- YaaasQueen (2517) – dang1234567 (2486) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 600 + 0s
- Blue_Valenti (2375) – lolipop123456789 (2373) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (5. d3 d6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6
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.