Italian Game: Classical Variation (3… Bc5 4. c3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3
The Italian Game: Classical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C53, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3. It is a line of the Italian Game. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 49,021 times by this move order. White won 52%, 4% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.09 (Stockfish, depth 57; best line 4… Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Re1)
- ECO
- C53
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/2b1p3/2B1P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 18,144 | |
| 1500-1999 | 26,125 | |
| 2000+ | 4,752 | |
| All | 49,021 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 Classical Variation (4. c3 Nf6) | 26,721 (55%) | |
| 4… d6 | 14,261 (29%) | |
| 4… h6 | 2,569 (5%) | |
| 4… a6 | 1,308 (3%) | |
| 4… Qf6 | 1,093 (2%) | |
| 4… Nge7 | 802 (2%) | |
| 4… Bb6 | 696 (1%) | |
| 4… Qe7 Classical Variation, Closed Variation | 415 (1%) |
Master games
926 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 57%, draw 13%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- Ethereal 13.89_NNUE (3515) – Stockfish dev16_202209170930 (3611) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- Stockfish dev16_202209170930 (3611) – Ethereal 13.89_NNUE (3515) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- GM Anish Giri (2764) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter Final 2020 · 2020-09-25
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2678) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) 0-1 · SuperUnited Blitz 2022 · 2022-07-24
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2775) – GM Javokhir Sindarov (2726) 0-1 · Titled Tue 13th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-13
Search all games of the Italian Game: Classical Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nana_jede_cevape (2899) – GM gmbrewchess (2965) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- LuckyStar2011 (2840) – GM xiaochess (2943) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- GM Kiborg95 (2779) – Sunrise34 (2855) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5
Continuations
- Italian Game: Classical Variation (4. c3 Nf6) C54 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Closed Variation C53 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, La Bourdonnais Variation C53 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb6
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.