Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, de Riviere Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
The Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, de Riviere Defense 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 Be7. 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 289 times by this move order. White won 54%, 5% were drawn and Black won 41%. The most popular continuation is 6. e5 (63% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.39 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 6. Nxd4 O-O 7. Nc3 Bc5 8. Nb3 Bb4)
- ECO
- C56
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/ppppbppp/2n2n2/8/2BpP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 4 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 53 | |
| 1500-1999 | 179 | |
| 2000+ | 57 | |
| All | 289 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. e5 | 183 (63%) | |
| 6. Nxd4 | 41 (14%) | |
| 6. Re1 | 30 (10%) | |
| 6. c3 | 25 (9%) | |
| 6. Ng5 | 4 (1%) | |
| 6. h3 | 3 (1%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
77 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 13%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2593) – IM Alexandr Triapishko (2510) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 19th Jan · 2021-01-19
- FM Alberto Martin Fuentes (2388) – GM Sergei Lobanov (2547) 0-1 · Titled Tue 20th Jun Early · 2023-06-20
- GM Artem Chernobay (2484) – FM Wojciech Przybylski (2321) 1-0 · Titled Tue 29th Nov Early · 2022-11-29
- WFM Nguyen Hong Nhung (2201) – GM Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen (2600) 0-1 · Titled Tue 1st Jul Late · 2025-07-01
- IM Ortik Nigmatov (2440) – FM Elmar Atakishiyev (2349) 1/2-1/2 · Aeroflot Open A 2024 · 2024-03-06
Search all games of the Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, de Riviere Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Zakhar_Pelekhatyi (2376) – Sableye_302 (2513) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- BifrostKnight (2430) – Hyperbulletdragon (2398) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- Pingi1 (2365) – SergeyVarzar (2382) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
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.