Italian Game: Evans Gambit (6. O-O d6)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C52, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 113 times by this move order. White won 40%, 2% were drawn and Black won 58%. The most popular continuation is 7. d4 (72% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.31 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 7. d4 Bg4 8. Bb5 exd4 9. cxd4 Ne7)
- ECO
- C52
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppp2ppp/2np4/b3p3/2B1P3/2P2N2/P2P1PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 0 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 24 | |
| 1500-1999 | 74 | |
| 2000+ | 15 | |
| All | 113 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. d4 | 81 (72%) | |
| 7. Qb3 | 21 (19%) | |
| 7. h3 | 8 (7%) | |
| 7. Bb2 | 2 (2%) | |
| 7. Ba3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
9 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 67%, draw 11%, Black 22%). The strongest:
- IM Vojtech Plat (2520) – FM Eu Wen Aron Teh (2285) 1-0 · Karel Opocensky Mem 2017 · 2017-07-02
- GM Levon Babujian (2330) – IM Arsen Davtyan (2400) 1-0 · 85th ch-ARM 1st League · 2024-12-03
- FM Davi Sulzbacher Goncalves (2282) – FM Gleb Kaganskiy (2225) 1-0 · Titled Tue 6th Sep Late · 2022-09-06
- GM Koen Leenhouts (2463) – WFM Kler Caku (2028) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 24th Dec Late · 2024-12-24
- Bartosz Warszawski (2118) – FM Michal Rudolf (2268) 1-0 · 286th YMCA Spring A 2024 · 2024-06-04
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- blushingchepos (2441) – dang1234567 (2493) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 0s
- mohitswami1022 (2438) – MR_salamanka (2456) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- blushingchepos (2435) – Madheena (2311) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Slow Variation 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O
Continuations
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Alapin-Steinitz Variation C52 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 Bg4
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Lasker Defense C52 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 Bb6
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Sanders-Alapin Variation C52 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 Bd7
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.