Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C51, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7. 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 1,384 times by this move order. White won 50%, 3% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 6. d4 (81% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 6. d4 Na5 7. Bd3 d6 8. dxe5 dxe5)
- ECO
- C51
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppppbppp/2n5/4p3/2B1P3/2P2N2/P2P1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 144 | |
| 1500-1999 | 887 | |
| 2000+ | 353 | |
| All | 1,384 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. d4 | 1,117 (81%) | |
| 6. Qb3 | 142 (10%) | |
| 6. O-O | 118 (9%) | |
| 6. d3 | 4 (0%) | |
| 6. h3 | 2 (0%) | |
| 6. Ba3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
228 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 54%, draw 11%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2728) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2747) 0-1 · Aimchess Rapid Prelim · 2022-10-16
- GM Samuel Sevian (2660) – GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2678) 0-1 · PNWCC Online Blitz JP 15 · 2020-06-27
- GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2619) – GM Sandipan Chanda (2594) 1-0 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-20
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Eric Hansen (2606) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 31st Aug · 2021-08-31
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Eric Hansen (2606) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tuesday 9th Mar · 2021-03-09
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ElKlemerr (2678) – godlevelplayer (2639) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- MiranovicRajko (2560) – TestoTester (2576) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- AMBMCM (2592) – ERDI22 (2477) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Accepted 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4
Continuations
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation, Cordel Line C51 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 6. d4 Na5
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.