Italian Game: Rousseau Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 f5
The Italian Game: Rousseau Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C50, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 f5. It is a line of the Italian Game. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 16,860 times by this move order. White won 46%, 3% were drawn and Black won 51%. The most popular continuation is 4. d3 (37% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.04 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. exd6 cxd6)
- ECO
- C50
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp2pp/2n5/4pp2/2B1P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 f5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 6,143 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,756 | |
| 2000+ | 961 | |
| All | 16,860 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d3 | 6,269 (37%) | |
| 4. exf5 | 5,338 (32%) | |
| 4. d4 | 2,521 (15%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 1,388 (8%) | |
| 4. Bxg8 | 402 (2%) | |
| 4. O-O | 374 (2%) | |
| 4. Ng5 | 167 (1%) | |
| 4. c3 | 135 (1%) |
Master games
117 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 51%, draw 14%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- GM Mikhail Al. Antipov (2592) – IM Thomas Beerdsen (2497) 1-0 · Titled Tue 17th May Early · 2022-05-17
- GM Pavel V. Tregubov (2567) – GM Bharath Subramaniyam H (2515) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 23rd Jan Early · 2024-01-23
- GM Nikita Meshkovs (2553) – IM Thomas Beerdsen (2497) 1-0 · Titled Tue 17th May Early · 2022-05-17
- GM Rodrigo Vasquez Schroeder (2456) – IM Thomas Beerdsen (2453) 1-0 · Titled Arena Mar 6th 2021 · 2021-03-06
- FM Vladimir Bochnicka (2309) – IM Thomas Beerdsen (2510) 0-1 · Titled Tue 21st Mar Late · 2023-03-21
Search all games of the Italian Game: Rousseau Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TheorySpeedrun (2721) – July16Q (2630) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- SackOnTheKing930 (2709) – July16Q (2632) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- LetUsWin (2601) – ElKlemerr (2684) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Italian Game 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4
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.