Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Morphy Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Morphy Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C51, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. 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 1 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 9… Nge7 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.35 (Stockfish, depth 30; best line 9… Na5 10. Bd3 Ne7 11. h3 O-O 12. Rb1)
- ECO
- C51
- Moves
- 17 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppp2ppp/1bnp4/8/2BPP3/2N2N2/P4PPP/R1BQ1RK1 b kq - 2 9- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| All | 1 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 9… Nge7 | 1 (100%) |
Master games
8 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 0%, draw 12%, Black 88%). The strongest:
- GM Ulvi Bajarani (2474) – FM Philip Dourtmes (2328) 1/2-1/2 · Zolochiv Chess Winter · 2017-12-06
- Sudarshan Bhat (2100) – IM V A V Rajesh (2314) 0-1 · 59th ch-IND 2022-23 · 2022-12-30
- Alexey Mischeryakov (1911) – Timofey Smirnov (2358) 0-1 · Moscow Open A 2015 · 2015-01-31
- IM Bakhtiyar Askarov (2309) – WCM Dila Baloglu (1944) 0-1 · Titled Tue 31st Dec Late · 2024-12-31
- Alexandre Berthaut (1924) – WGM Evgeniya Doluhanova (2229) 0-1 · ch-FRA Blitz Online Qual · 2020-05-16
Search all games of the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Morphy Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- mvitalyus (2059) – an3su (1847) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 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.