Italian Game: Evans Gambit, McDonnell Defense, Main Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, McDonnell Defense, Main Line 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. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 192 times by this move order. White won 46%, 2% were drawn and Black won 52%. The most popular continuation is 9. Qb3 (29% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. d5 Ne5)
- ECO
- C51
- Moves
- 16 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppp2ppp/1bnp4/8/2BPP3/5N2/P4PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 1 9- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 30 | |
| 1500-1999 | 134 | |
| 2000+ | 28 | |
| All | 192 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9. Qb3 | 55 (29%) | |
| 9. Nc3 | 29 (15%) | |
| 9. d5 | 21 (11%) | |
| 9. Ng5 | 13 (7%) | |
| 9. Bb2 | 13 (7%) | |
| 9. e5 | 9 (5%) | |
| 9. Bb5 | 8 (4%) | |
| 9. a4 | 8 (4%) |
Master games
13 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 8%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – FM Cedric Chassard (2292) 1-0 · Titled Tue 29th Oct Late · 2024-10-29
- IM Janos Konnyu (2339) – IM Zoltan Hajnal (2375) 1-0 · TCh-HUN 2016-17 · 2016-11-27
- Simon Burian (2124) – Kevin Hoegy (2244) 1/2-1/2 · 32nd Staufer-Open 2020 · 2020-01-04
- WFM Anita, Dr. Stangl (2070) – WIM Zenia Corrales Jimenez (2153) 0-1 · Swiss Queens Wed #3 2024 · 2024-02-14
- John T Funderburg (2100) – CM Abdulrahman A Masrahi (1989) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 9th Mar · 2021-03-09
Highest-rated Lichess games
- dhurandhar14 (2439) – lautaro_en_ajedrez (2523) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 0s
- cz_cod (2174) – AMIN_BLUES (2138) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- sohrabs1402 (2153) – ahsanjhabib (2130) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 5s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, McDonnell Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5
Continuations
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit (9. Nc3 Bg4) C51 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Bg4
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Göring Attack C51 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Na5 10. Bg5
- Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Ulvestad Variation C51 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. d5 Na5 10. Bb2
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.