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
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense 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. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 271 times by this move order. White won 57%, 3% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 8. Qb3 (78% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. Bg5 Qg6 10. Nxc3 Bxc3)
- ECO
- C52
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/b7/2B1P3/2p2N2/P4PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 0 8- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 36 | |
| 1500-1999 | 186 | |
| 2000+ | 49 | |
| All | 271 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Qb3 | 211 (78%) | |
| 8. Qd5 | 17 (6%) | |
| 8. Ba3 | 13 (5%) | |
| 8. Bxf7+ | 10 (4%) | |
| 8. Ng5 | 8 (3%) | |
| 8. e5 | 7 (3%) | |
| 8. Nxc3 | 3 (1%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
33 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 85%, draw 3%, Black 12%). The strongest:
- IM Augustin Droin (2480) – FM Jose Ricardo Garcia Correa (2103) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Nov 2025 · 2025-11-25
- FM Jakub Tuma (2325) – FM Jan Bartos (2221) 1-0 · TCh-CZE 1 Liga Zapad · 2015-02-01
- FM Timofey Smirnov (2368) – FM Jose Ricardo Garcia Correa (2103) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Jan Late · 2024-01-09
- Bernhard Besner (2157) – WGM Levushkina, E. (2309) 0-1 · TCh-AUT 2nd West 2017-18 · 2017-10-13
- FM Luca Ernst (2261) – FM Jose Ricardo Garcia Correa (2103) 1-0 · Titled Tue 12th Aug Early · 2025-08-12
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nik_GE (2518) – lautaro_en_ajedrez (2544) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- laviondechasse2986 (2469) – lautaro_en_ajedrez (2566) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 0s
- Akhila_Warrior1989 (2442) – alexbollant (2481) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 900 + 10s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4
Continuations
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense, Main Line C52 · 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
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense, Potter Variation C52 · 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. Rd1
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.