Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Harding Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Harding 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 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2. 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 359 times by this move order. White won 56%, 3% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 8… Bxd2+ (76% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.10 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 8… Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 d6 10. O-O Nf6 11. Nc3)
- ECO
- C51
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/8/1bBPP3/5N2/P2B1PPP/RN1QK2R b KQkq - 2 8- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 188 | |
| 1500-1999 | 160 | |
| 2000+ | 11 | |
| All | 359 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… Bxd2+ | 272 (76%) | |
| 8… Nf6 | 25 (7%) | |
| 8… Qe7 | 20 (6%) | |
| 8… d6 | 11 (3%) | |
| 8… a5 | 9 (3%) | |
| 8… Nge7 | 5 (1%) | |
| 8… Qf6 | 4 (1%) | |
| 8… d5 | 4 (1%) |
Master games
15 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 60%, draw 0%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- FM Osiel Alberto Alonso Orta (2009) – Lindolfo Luiz Da Silva (2182) 1-0 · Titled Tue 9th Jul Early · 2024-07-09
- Begimai Zairbek kyzy (1919) – Maria Belen Manriquez Abarzua (1630) 1-0 · World Youth Girl U18 2018 · 2018-10-23
- Fatih Celikel (1720) – Salih Ucucu (1632) 1-0 · TCh-TUR 2nd League 2017 · 2017-07-23
- Anais Chloe Fiset (1754) – Yeeshuen Li (1587) 1-0 · Canadian Women Zonal 2024 · 2024-03-29
- Jonas Weissenhofer (1692) – Nikola Mrkovic (1517) 1-0 · 29th EY Open U14 2019 · 2019-08-05
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Harding Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- WeslysoGM (2181) – Pazcifico (2223) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- alasri (2114) – Drip1970 (2149) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- permafrost2021 (2152) – Kudinman (2069) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, McDonnell Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5
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.