Italian Game: Hungarian Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7
The Italian Game: Hungarian Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C50, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7. 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 17,474 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4. d4 (24% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.34 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O)
- ECO
- C50
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppppbppp/2n5/4p3/2B1P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 4 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4,806 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10,645 | |
| 2000+ | 2,023 | |
| All | 17,474 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d4 | 4,243 (24%) | |
| 4. O-O | 4,040 (23%) | |
| 4. d3 | 3,079 (18%) | |
| 4. c3 | 3,045 (17%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 2,423 (14%) | |
| 4. a3 | 190 (1%) | |
| 4. h3 | 141 (1%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 62 (0%) |
Master games
1,871 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 48%, draw 20%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3730) – Stockfish 202005232210 (3796) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-07
- Stockfish 202005232210 (3796) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3730) 1-0 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-06-04
- Komodo 2551.00 (3743) – AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-05-31
- AllieStein v0.7_dev-net_14.3 (3761) – Komodo 2551.00 (3743) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 18 Premier 2020 · 2020-05-28
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2755) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2831) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz Final KO 2024 · 2024-12-31
Search all games of the Italian Game: Hungarian Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- vistagusta (2823) – winx_m (2929) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM khubushka2007 (2789) – winx_m (2939) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- tourdefra (2776) – winx_m (2942) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4
Continuations
- Scotch Game: Benima Defense C44 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4
More Italian Game lines (all)
- 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
- Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit 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.