Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5. O-O O-O)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O
The Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo is a chess opening classified as ECO C50, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,126 times by this move order. White won 46%, 5% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 6. d3 (63% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.14 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 6. d3 h6 7. h3 a6 8. Nd5 d6)
- ECO
- C50
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/2b1p3/2B1P3/2N2N2/PPPP1PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 8 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 790 | |
| 1500-1999 | 324 | |
| 2000+ | 12 | |
| All | 1,126 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. d3 Giuoco Pianissimo (5… O-O 6. d3) | 714 (63%) | |
| 6. h3 | 146 (13%) | |
| 6. a3 | 79 (7%) | |
| 6. Re1 | 50 (4%) | |
| 6. Nd5 | 25 (2%) | |
| 6. Ng5 | 23 (2%) | |
| 6. d4 | 20 (2%) | |
| 6. Na4 | 12 (1%) |
Master games
11 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 27%, draw 18%, Black 55%). The strongest:
- Abdullah F Al Mutairi (1971) – Mathias Allan Ssonko (2167) 1-0 · Online Olym Div4 B 2021 · 2021-08-22
- CM Satbek Akhmedinov (1948) – Narmin Abdinova (1621) 1/2-1/2 · AZE-KAZ U16 Team Battle · 2020-09-17
- Lidet Abate Haile (1544) – Sarocha Chuemsakul (1620) 0-1 · Olympiad Women 2018 · 2018-09-26
- Lishen Mentile (1480) – Maboloko Leboela (1406) 1-0 · Olympiad Women 2016 · 2016-09-09
Search all games of the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- frundenyjengen (2189) – Pygmalion_effect (2146) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 300 + 0s
- BossHeisenberg (2188) – Zottin (2122) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Daniel2010edward (2155) – jpiloto1971 (2116) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Four Knights Game: Italian Variation (4. Nc3 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6
Continuations
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (5… O-O 6. d3) C50 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. d3
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, Canal Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Dubois Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit C50
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Normal 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.