Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Lange Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Nh6
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Lange Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C51, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Nh6. 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 11 times by this move order. White won 36%, 0% were drawn and Black won 64%. The most popular continuation is 7. d4 (73% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.28 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 7. Be2 Bd4 8. Nc4 Nxc4 9. c3 Bxf2+)
- ECO
- C51
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/1b5n/nP2N3/2B1P3/8/P1PP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Nh6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 11 | |
| All | 11 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. d4 | 8 (73%) | |
| 7. d3 | 2 (18%) | |
| 7. O-O | 1 (9%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- bbbk20 (1971) – cdccantor (2002) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GekkfiinN (1962) – Genio4030 (1931) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 300 + 0s
- Yeshua_1286 (1944) – thebet (1855) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined (4. b4 Bb6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6
Continuations
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Pavlov Variation C51 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Nh6 7. d4 d6 8. Bxh6 dxe5 9. Bxg7 Rg8 10. Bxf7+ Kxf7 11. Bxe5 Qg5 12. Nd2
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.