Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O Nge7
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses 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. d4 exd4 7. O-O Nge7. 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 184 times by this move order. White won 61%, 1% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 8. Ng5 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 8. Ng5 d5 9. Nxf7 Kxf7 10. exd5 Ne5)
- ECO
- C52
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/ppppnppp/2n5/b7/2BpP3/2P2N2/P4PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 2 8- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O Nge7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 131 | |
| 2000+ | 48 | |
| All | 184 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. Ng5 | 71 (39%) | |
| 8. cxd4 | 71 (39%) | |
| 8. Qb3 | 30 (16%) | |
| 8. Bxf7+ | 8 (4%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 2 (1%) | |
| 8. e5 | 1 (1%) | |
| 8. Ba3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
132 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 15%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2774) – GM So, W. (2767) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 2019 · 2019-11-19
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – IM Mihnea Costachi (2471) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 25th May · 2021-05-25
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – FM Egor Bykov (2424) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd Apr Late · 2024-04-23
- GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) – FM Lev Zverev (2416) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 4th Jun Late · 2024-06-04
- GM Antonios Pavlidis (2532) – IM Alexey Sarana (2457) 1/2-1/2 · European Rapid 2016 · 2016-12-16
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM MrSuccess (2709) – TCromwell (2515) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- jrivelli1993 (2426) – sierra92 (2510) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- jrivelli1993 (2433) – IM KingofCheapos (2490) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4
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.