Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O
The Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C56, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O. 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 379 times by this move order. White won 60%, 4% were drawn and Black won 36%. The most popular continuation is 6… dxc3 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.22 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 6… Nxe4 7. cxd4 d5 8. dxc5 dxc4 9. Qe2)
- ECO
- C56
- Moves
- 11 plies
- FEN
r1bqk2r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/2b5/2BpP3/2P2N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 b kq - 1 6- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 122 | |
| 1500-1999 | 209 | |
| 2000+ | 48 | |
| All | 379 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6… dxc3 | 161 (42%) | |
| 6… O-O | 87 (23%) | |
| 6… Nxe4 | 67 (18%) | |
| 6… d6 | 36 (9%) | |
| 6… d5 | 11 (3%) | |
| 6… h6 | 8 (2%) | |
| 6… d3 | 4 (1%) | |
| 6… Bb4 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
133 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 25%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- IM Jan Vykouk (2435) – GM David Navara (2707) 0-1 · ch-CZE Blitz 2019 · 2019-12-21
- GM Sergey Karjakin (2752) – FM Julian Landaw (2318) 1-0 · Chess.com Bullet Open 1 · 2020-12-19
- FM Eneasz Wiewiora (2333) – GM Alexey Sarana (2668) 1-0 · Titled Tue 19th Jul Late · 2022-07-19
- FM Semen Mitusov (2306) – GM Pavel Eljanov (2672) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 13th Oct · 2020-10-13
- Ozgibcev, A. (2368) – IM Ivan Bocharov (2563) 0-1 · TCh-RUS Blitz 2018 · 2018-10-10
Search all games of the Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- andrey_chess77 (2458) – ElKlemerr (2678) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- EYTHBHDTR (2353) – anfisa2400 (2418) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- EYTHBHDTR (2340) – heng1115 (2375) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Center Attack 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4
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.