Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Canal Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Nc3
The Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Canal Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C56, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Nc3. 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 12 times by this move order. White won 58%, 9% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 7… dxc4 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.43 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7… dxc3 8. Bxd5 Be6 9. Bxe4 Qxd1 10. Rxd1)
- ECO
- C56
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/ppp2ppp/2n5/3p4/2Bpn3/2N2N2/PPP2PPP/R1BQR1K1 b kq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 12 | |
| All | 12 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… dxc4 | 5 (42%) | |
| 7… dxc3 | 4 (33%) | |
| 7… Be6 | 2 (17%) | |
| 7… Be7 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
43 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 23%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- FM Samant Aditya S (2433) – GM Klementy Sychev (2553) 1-0 · Titled Tue 15th Feb Early · 2022-02-15
- GM Sarunas Sulskis (2528) – IM Oleg Krivonosov (2411) 1/2-1/2 · Panevezys Elite Open 2019 · 2019-06-26
- FM Samant Aditya S (2433) – IM Nicolas Brunner (2427) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 22nd Feb Early · 2022-02-22
- FM Jesper Morch Lauridsen (2304) – GM Jesper Sondergaard Thybo (2538) 1/2-1/2 · Danish Blitz 2023 · 2023-05-14
- IM Samant Aditya S (2467) – FM Saidakbar Saydaliev (2376) 1/2-1/2 · Asian Continental Blitz · 2022-11-03
Search all games of the Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Canal Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NM Pliukha_Mikhail (2714) – hadishahod (2798) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- NM Pliukha_Mikhail (2690) – FM The_Fawkes (2616) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- joker-23 (2469) – swynwr (2485) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Scotch Game: Scotch Gambit 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4
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.