Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense, Main Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 10. Nxc3 Nge7 11. Ba3
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense, Main Line 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. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 10. Nxc3 Nge7 11. Ba3. It is a line of the Italian Game. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 11… Bxc3 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 11… Rb8 12. Nb5 a6 13. Bd3 Qe6 14. Bc4)
- ECO
- C52
- Moves
- 21 plies
- FEN
r1b1k2r/ppppnppp/2n3q1/b3P3/2B5/BQN2N2/P4PPP/R4RK1 b kq - 2 11- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 10. Nxc3 Nge7 11. Ba3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11… Bxc3 | 2 (100%) |
Master games
4 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 75%, draw 0%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- Paolo Ciuffoletti (2106) – Ieuan C Ward (2028) 1-0 · Titled Tue 4th Apr Early · 2023-04-04
- CM Necmettin Korkmaz (2091) – Ieuan C Ward (2028) 0-1 · Titled Tue 11th Apr Late · 2023-04-11
Highest-rated Lichess games
- edwardvillano (2058) – SAV_72 (2134) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Addicted2pawn (2105) – alfredo2023 (2059) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3
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.