Italian Game: Bird's Attack
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Statistics from Lichess
233,038 games: White 45.8% / Draw 4.1% / Black 50.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 187,952188K | ||
| 23,35923K | ||
| 11,29811K | ||
| 7,8737,873 | ||
| 543543 | ||
| 502502 | ||
| 326326 | ||
| 310310 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.08 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Be7 6. d3 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Bf6 10. b5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 49% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 120K | |
| 1400–1799 | 239K | |
| 1800–2199 | 107K | |
| 2200 and up | 6,691 | |
| Masters, over the board | 367 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Kramnik, V.
- Caruana, F. – Nakamura, H.
- Jobava, B. – Caruana, F.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Eljanov, P.
- Jobava, B. – Eljanov, P.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Italian Game: Bird's Attack (ECO C53, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. b4 (5 moves).
In 233,038 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.8%, Black 50.1% and 4.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bb6, in 81% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Italian Game: Bird's Attack
The most played answer, 5…Bb6, also scores best for Black: 52.8%, with Black winning 50.7% and White 45.2% of 188K games. Of the main answers, 5…Be7 scores lowest: 51.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Be7.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Bird's Attack peaked in 2021 at 0.011% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0083% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0074% | 2,627 |
| 2017 | 0.0091% | 5,007 |
| 2018 | 0.0085% | 6,644 |
| 2019 | 0.0082% | 10,184 |
| 2020 | 0.0085% | 24,982 |
| 2021 | 0.011% | 43,399 |
| 2022 | 0.0096% | 35,927 |
| 2023 | 0.0088% | 32,953 |
| 2024 | 0.0086% | 30,723 |
| 2025 | 0.0083% | 28,735 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0076% | 8,306 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Bird's Attack (C53)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-birds-attack