Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (6. c3 O-O)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 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. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O. 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 53 times by this move order. White won 42%, 1% were drawn and Black won 57%. The most popular continuation is 7. a4 (21% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.18 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 7. Re1 Bb6 8. h3 a5 9. Nbd2 Be6)
- ECO
- C54
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/ppp2ppp/2np1n2/2b1p3/2B1P3/2PP1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w - - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 17 | |
| 1500-1999 | 28 | |
| 2000+ | 8 | |
| All | 53 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. a4 | 11 (21%) | |
| 7. Nbd2 | 7 (13%) | |
| 7. b4 | 7 (13%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 7 (13%) | |
| 7. h3 | 6 (11%) | |
| 7. d4 | 5 (9%) | |
| 7. Re1 | 4 (8%) | |
| 7. Be3 | 4 (8%) |
Master games
472 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 29%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) 1-0 · 1st 3-0 Thu 15th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-15
- GM Fabiano Caruana (2808) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2786) 0-1 · 5th Norway Blitz 2017 · 2017-06-05
- GM Levon Aronian (2767) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2822) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 5m+1spm 2017 · 2018-07-24
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2779) – GM Liren Ding (2805) 1/2-1/2 · Croatia GCT 2019 · 2019-06-28
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2774) – GM Liren Ding (2805) 1/2-1/2 · 7th Sinquefield Cup 2019 · 2019-08-23
Search all games of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Susushsjxjxhx (2279) – Baryshev (2345) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 3s
- thisusernameisgood (2340) – elchapo789 (2262) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- Tecnologist (2220) – Iskuri (2262) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (5… d6 6. c3) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3
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.