Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Showalter Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. a4 a6 6. Nc3
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Showalter Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C51, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. a4 a6 6. Nc3. 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 25 times by this move order. White won 44%, 8% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 6… d6 (64% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.16 (Stockfish, depth 37; best line 6… Nf6 7. Nd5 O-O 8. a5 Ba7 9. O-O)
- ECO
- C51
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/1ppp1ppp/pbn5/4p3/PPB1P3/2N2N2/2PP1PPP/R1BQK2R b KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. a4 a6 6. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2 | |
| 1500-1999 | 19 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 25 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… d6 | 16 (64%) | |
| 6… Nf6 | 7 (28%) | |
| 6… Nxb4 | 1 (4%) | |
| 6… h6 | 1 (4%) |
Master games
83 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 15%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2750) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 1m+1spm 2017 · 2017-11-21
- GM Javokhir Sindarov (2609) – GM Levon Aronian (2772) 0-1 · World Blitz 2021 · 2021-12-30
- GM Javokhir Sindarov (2609) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2767) 1-0 · World Blitz 2021 · 2021-12-29
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) 0-1 · Titled Arena May 8th 2021 · 2021-05-08
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770) 0-1 · Titled Arena Jan 2nd 2021 · 2021-01-02
Highest-rated Lichess games
- j_tempo (2394) – Dikeuss2 (2263) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- j_tempo (2389) – RA_Jose (1985) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- arbenkoleci (2106) – vedant960 (2047) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined (4… Bb6 5. a4) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. a4
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.