Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Therkatz-Herzog Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 O-O 14. Nxh7
The Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Therkatz-Herzog Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C54, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 O-O 14. Nxh7. 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 22 times by this move order. White won 36%, 23% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 14… Kxh7 (86% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 14… Kxh7 15. Rh4+ Kg8 16. Qh5 f6 17. Bd3)
- ECO
- C54
- Moves
- 27 plies
- FEN
r1bq1rk1/ppp1nppN/3p4/3P4/2B1R3/8/PP3PPP/R2Q2K1 b - - 0 14- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 O-O 14. Nxh7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 17 | |
| All | 22 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 14… Kxh7 | 19 (86%) | |
| 14… Bf5 | 3 (14%) |
Master games
22 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 55%, draw 13%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Vasif Durarbayli (2606) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2709) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 26th Jan · 2021-01-26
- FM Gor Glidzhain (2204) – FM Sahib Singh (2430) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Jan Early · 2025-01-07
- IM Ilja Sirosh (2402) – FM Bojan Todorovic (2222) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 26th Apr Early · 2022-04-26
- FM Ramil Sadykov (2332) – Georgios Beliotis (2212) 1-0 · 28th Kavala Open 2019 · 2019-08-11
- Arthur Pijpers (2366) – Peter Ypma (2179) 1-0 · 51st Groningen Open A 2013 · 2013-12-28
Search all games of the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Therkatz-Herzog Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- imperturbableness (2228) – Chess-SONG (2255) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 900 + 10s
- alkingkero (2206) – mathchesscallas (2239) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-05 · 600 + 0s
- Ben_Venden (2239) – PerryThePatzerpus (2168) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5
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.