Italian Game: Evans Gambit (9. Nc3 Bg4)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Bg4
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C51, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Bg4. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 13 times by this move order. White won 46%, 0% were drawn and Black won 54%. The most popular continuation is 10. Bxf7+ (23% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.13 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Nd5 Nce7 12. Bc4 Nxd5)
- ECO
- C51
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r2qk1nr/ppp2ppp/1bnp4/8/2BPP1b1/2N2N2/P4PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w kq - 3 10- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Bg4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| All | 13 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. Bxf7+ | 3 (23%) | |
| 10. Qb3 | 3 (23%) | |
| 10. h3 | 2 (15%) | |
| 10. Nd5 | 2 (15%) | |
| 10. Re1 | 1 (8%) | |
| 10. Bb5 | 1 (8%) | |
| 10. d5 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
3 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 67%, draw 0%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- FM Christoph Zill (2180) – IM Arno Zude (2370) 0-1 · 21st OIBM 2017 · 2017-11-03
- Jan Sulman (1775) – Ghislain Vancoppenolle (1553) 1-0 · Brasschaat Open 2015 · 2015-08-16
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- juniperjelly (1981) – TurkishGambittt (1923) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- Jarrettmp (1858) – essentia9 (2007) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 300 + 0s
- wastedchesstalent (1910) – yalexandr (1906) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, McDonnell Defense, Main Line 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6
Continuations
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Fraser Attack C51 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Qa4
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.