Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Long Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. Re1+ Be6 9. Ng5 Qd5 10. Nc3 Qf5 11. Nce4
The Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Long 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 Bc5 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. Re1+ Be6 9. Ng5 Qd5 10. Nc3 Qf5 11. Nce4. 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 15 times by this move order. White won 67%, 0% were drawn and Black won 33%. The most popular continuation is 11… O-O-O (73% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.38 (Stockfish, depth 37; best line 11… Bf8 12. Nxf7 Kxf7 13. Ng5+ Kg8 14. Rxe6)
- ECO
- C56
- Moves
- 21 plies
- FEN
r3k2r/ppp2ppp/2n1bP2/2b2qN1/2ppN3/8/PPP2PPP/R1BQR1K1 b kq - 7 11- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. Re1+ Be6 9. Ng5 Qd5 10. Nc3 Qf5 11. Nce4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 13 | |
| All | 15 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 11… O-O-O | 11 (73%) | |
| 11… gxf6 | 2 (13%) | |
| 11… Bb6 | 2 (13%) |
Master games
18 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 17%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- Arjun Tiwari (2205) – IM Aleksandar H Wohl (2370) 0-1 · Bhopal International Open · 2017-12-24
- Zaki Harari (2053) – GM Mark L Hebden (2500) 0-1 · 3rd Kings Place Open 2015 · 2015-07-11
- Dragos, Dr. Ciornei (2205) – Frode Benedikt Nielsen (2015) 1/2-1/2 · Sparkassen Open A 2013 · 2013-07-29
- CM Ivan Kochiev (2051) – FM Javier Buenafe Moya (2136) 1-0 · Titled Tue 30th Jan Late · 2024-01-30
- Arian De Bruijne (1934) – John Raymond Markus (2147) 1-0 · Dutch Open 2012 · 2012-07-30
Highest-rated Lichess games
- RomChartres (2533) – FM ArdianJashari (2458) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- gabrielmonchimanchas (2329) – napoleonito (2325) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- thebuson (2304) – Gruco977 (2320) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5
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.