Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Lasker Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 Bb6
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Lasker 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. O-O d6 7. d4 Bb6. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 5 times by this move order. White won 0%, 20% were drawn and Black won 80%. The most popular continuation is 8. dxe5 (80% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.18 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Nxd8 10. Nxe5 Nf6)
- ECO
- C52
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppp2ppp/1bnp4/4p3/2BPP3/2P2N2/P4PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 1 8- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6 7. d4 Bb6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 5 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. dxe5 | 4 (80%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 1 (20%) |
Master games
6 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 67%, draw 16%, Black 17%). The strongest:
- IM Mykola Bortnyk (2442) – IM Yasel Borges Ferias (2439) 0-1 · Titled Tue 3rd Jan Late · 2023-01-03
- CM Georgijs Germanovs (2255) – GM Jingyao Tin (2582) 1-0 · Titled Tue 25th Feb Early · 2025-02-25
- GM Orelvis Perez Mitjans (2416) – FM Marc Lacrosse (2189) 1-0 · 42nd Barbera Open 2019 · 2019-07-08
- FM Jens Albert Ramsdal (2376) – Tiago Batista Oliveira (1964) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd Apr Late · 2024-04-23
- WIM Sabina Ibrahimova (2222) – Narmin Soyunlu (2008) 1/2-1/2 · ch-AZE w 2018 · 2018-02-23
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Lasker Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- blushingchepos (2441) – dang1234567 (2493) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 0s
- enoTEZcan (2122) – NoaS95 (2113) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- Dan-Ahan (2053) – MoktarToufik (2173) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit (6. O-O d6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. O-O d6
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.