Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3
The Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line is a chess opening classified as ECO C54, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,123 times by this move order. White won 44%, 6% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 9. bxc3 (59% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.33 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6)
- ECO
- C54
- Moves
- 16 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n5/8/2BPn3/2b2N2/PP3PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w kq - 0 9- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 176 | |
| 1500-1999 | 660 | |
| 2000+ | 287 | |
| All | 1,123 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9. bxc3 | 658 (59%) | |
| 9. d5 Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack | 450 (40%) | |
| 9. Qe2 | 4 (0%) | |
| 9. Bxf7+ | 3 (0%) | |
| 9. Qd3 | 3 (0%) | |
| 9. Qb3 | 2 (0%) | |
| 9. Re1 | 1 (0%) | |
| 9. b4 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
78 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 28%, draw 14%, Black 58%). The strongest:
- FM Vinzent Spitzl (2346) – IM Mihnea Costachi (2471) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 6th Apr · 2021-04-06
- FM Alexey Lizlov (2304) – IM Jakub Pulpan (2405) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 23rd Feb · 2021-02-23
- FM Alexey Lizlov (2304) – WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (2350) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 4th May · 2021-05-04
- FM Alexey Lizlov (2304) – Silvio Eduardo Oliveira (2321) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 16th Feb · 2021-02-16
- FM Alexey Lizlov (2304) – IM Jakob Leon Pajeken (2305) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 27th Apr · 2021-04-27
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM AlexVerzhansky (2439) – anhbutk (2656) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Gary_Oldmen (2442) – eugmind (2557) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- FM AlexVerzhansky (2446) – Rain_5 (2531) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3
Continuations
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5
- Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Steinitz Variation C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 d5 10. Ba3
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.