Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo (3… Bc5 4. d3)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3
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. d3. It is a line of the Italian Game. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 36,940 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Bb6 7. Nbd2)
- ECO
- C50
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1ppp/2n5/2b1p3/2B1P3/3P1N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 20,146 | |
| 1500-1999 | 14,913 | |
| 2000+ | 1,881 | |
| All | 36,940 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 15,513 (42%) | |
| 4… d6 | 10,509 (28%) | |
| 4… h6 | 8,454 (23%) | |
| 4… Nge7 | 534 (1%) | |
| 4… Qf6 | 337 (1%) | |
| 4… a6 | 292 (1%) | |
| 4… Nd4 | 245 (1%) | |
| 4… f6 | 242 (1%) |
Master games
6,876 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 24%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- AllieStein v0.8-120f959_net-15.0 (3509) – ScorpioNN 3.0.11 (3496) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-08
- ScorpioNN 3.0.11 (3496) – AllieStein v0.8-120f959_net-15.0 (3509) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-05
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) – GM Levon Aronian (2781) 1/2-1/2 · NIC Classic KO 2021 · 2021-04-29
- GM Levon Aronian (2767) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2842) 1/2-1/2 · 6th Sinquefield Cup 2018 · 2018-08-20
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2767) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) 0-1 · SpeedChess Final 2024 · 2024-09-08
Search all games of the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM shuriks91 (2854) – kuhmft (2841) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- IM ManiacalZerker (2784) – Sunrise34 (2866) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- IM ManiacalZerker (2785) – Sunrise34 (2865) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5
Continuations
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit C50 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 f5
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation C50 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3
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 (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, Normal C50
- Italian Game: Hungarian Defense 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.