Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 Ng4
The Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann 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 Bc5 6. e5 Ng4. 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 114 times by this move order. White won 61%, 0% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 7. h3 (31% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.34 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7. Bf4 O-O 8. h3 Nh6 9. Bxh6 gxh6)
- ECO
- C56
- Moves
- 12 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n5/2b1P3/2Bp2n1/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w kq - 1 7- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 Ng4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 37 | |
| 1500-1999 | 73 | |
| 2000+ | 4 | |
| All | 114 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7. h3 | 35 (31%) | |
| 7. Bxf7+ | 19 (17%) | |
| 7. Bf4 | 16 (14%) | |
| 7. c3 | 16 (14%) | |
| 7. Re1 | 11 (10%) | |
| 7. Ng5 | 8 (7%) | |
| 7. Bg5 | 5 (4%) | |
| 7. Nxd4 | 3 (3%) |
Master games
12 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 58%, draw 17%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- CM Evgenij Novikov (2276) – IM Alexandr P. Provotorov (2212) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 25th Feb Early · 2025-02-25
- Peter M Gayson (2141) – FM Marian Kastelic (2241) 0-1 · World Senior 50+ 2018 · 2018-11-26
- Santiago Castillo (2163) – WFM Alexandra Alieva (2054) 1-0 · Titled Tue 15th Sep 2026 · 2026-09-15
- FM Santiago Jose Guevara Ruiz (2121) – WFM Blanka Ejsymont (2095) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Jun 2026 · 2026-06-30
- Marco Aurelio Zaror Cordeiro (2222) – WCM Evelina Zavivaeva (1619) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Aug · 2020-08-18
Highest-rated Lichess games
- BelarusWarrior (2500) – nascimento1708 (1920) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- sergiu93 (2099) – KoSv (2149) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Tiffaz (2065) – Marioskr (2092) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 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.