Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4
The Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C42, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4. It is a line of the Petrov's Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 35,434 times by this move order. White won 51%, 4% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3… Bc5 (27% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.50 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 3… Nxe4 4. Nxe5 d5 5. Be2 Bd6 6. Nf3)
- ECO
- C42
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/2B1P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 3 3- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 20,680 | |
| 1500-1999 | 13,488 | |
| 2000+ | 1,266 | |
| All | 35,434 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Bc5 | 9,439 (27%) | |
| 3… Nxe4 | 9,204 (26%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 8,522 (24%) | |
| 3… d5 | 2,435 (7%) | |
| 3… d6 | 1,913 (5%) | |
| 3… c6 | 1,254 (4%) | |
| 3… h6 | 881 (2%) | |
| 3… Bd6 | 478 (1%) |
Master games
427 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 9%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- GM Nigel D Short (2655) – GM David Anton Guijarro (2616) 1-0 · II Neoclassical Masters · 2016-06-03
- GM Anton Demchenko (2619) – GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2532) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess Q1Sw · 2023-08-21
- GM Valentina Gunina (2506) – GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2546) 0-1 · chess.com Women's Speed · 2019-06-23
- IM Kevin Paveto (2406) – GM Diego Flores (2551) 0-1 · Perez Chess Open 2025 · 2025-03-03
- IM Ernesto J. Fernandez Guillen (2477) – FM Moritz Weishaeutel (2438) 1-0 · Titled Tue 23rd May Early · 2023-05-23
Search all games of the Petrov's Defense: Italian Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MoUcHeSs0707 (2492) – satlan (2676) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Papolabestia123 (2574) – Sagitario999 (2559) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- ShadowNinja7i (2652) – FM Commissaire-Maigret (2454) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Petrov's Defense (2. Nf3 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6
Continuations
- Bishop's Opening: Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit C27 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Nc3
More Petrov's Defense lines (all)
- Petrov's Defense (2… Nf6 3. Nxe5) C42
- Petrov's Defense (3. Nxe5 d6) C42
- Petrov's Defense (3… d6 4. Nf3) C42
- Petrov's Defense (4. Nf3 Nxe4) C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Berger Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Browne Attack C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Chigorin Variation, Main Line C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Closed Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Jaenisch Variation C42
- Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Krause Variation C42
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.