Italian Game: Classical Variation
The Classical Variation of the Giuoco Piano (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3) is White's most common fourth move against 3...Bc5. 4.c3 prepares d4, aiming to build a pawn centre. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
13,133,957 games: White 51.0% / Draw 4.5% / Black 44.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| C54 | 7,493,1687.5M | |
| 3,577,9963.6M | ||
| 575,342575K | ||
| 343,154343K | ||
| 320,250320K | ||
| 246,114246K | ||
| 218,679219K | ||
| Closed Variation | 164,641165K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 3, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.18 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 a5 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Bb5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 55% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 4.6M | |
| 1400–1799 | 10.9M | |
| 1800–2199 | 6.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 595K | |
| Masters, over the board | 14K |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Kramnik, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Kramnik, V.
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 26, 2026
Description
The Classical Variation of the Giuoco Piano (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3) is White's most common fourth move against 3...Bc5. 4.c3 prepares d4, aiming to build a pawn centre.
Origins
4.c3 Nf6, Black's main reply, was first analysed by Gioachino Greco in the 17th century, and Greco consistently answered 3...Bc5 with 4.c3 while other players of his time tended to prefer 4.O-O. The sharp Møller Attack in the 5.d4 line only appeared in 1898. The slow 5.d3, the Giuoco Pianissimo, had been a frequent sideline for centuries. Despite its drawish reputation it became more popular after John Nunn and Anatoly Karpov took it up in the 1980s, and the modern lines with c3 and d3 became the dominant variation; Karpov used them twice against Viktor Korchnoi in the 1981 World Championship.
The idea
White wants to play d4 and take over the centre. Black's main answer, 4...Nf6, counterattacks e4, so after 5.d4 exd4 the game opens quickly. The alternative is to keep the centre closed with 5.d3 and a slow build-up.
Main lines
- 4...Nf6 5.d4, the Center Attack, 5...exd4:
- 6.cxd4 Bb4+, the traditional line (6...Bb6 is weak because of 7.e5). White's most popular reply is 7.Bd2; 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.O-O is Greco's gambit, where 8...Bxc3 9.d5 is the Møller Attack. 7.Nbd2 and 7.Kf1 are also played;
- 6.e5, the modern line, advocated by Evgeny Sveshnikov and the main alternative to 6.cxd4; 6.b4, advocated by Daniil Dubov, and 6.O-O are also possible.
- 4...Nf6 5.d3, the Giuoco Pianissimo, the modern slow approach.
- 4...Nf6 5.O-O, the Albin Gambit, accepted with 5...Nxe4 or declined, usually with 5...d6.
- 4...Qe7, the Closed Variation, keeping the pawn on e5 after 5.d4 Bb6.
- 4...d6, with lines such as the La Bourdonnais Variation.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- A classical plan: White builds a big centre with c3 and d4.
- White can choose between sharp gambit play and the quiet modern set-up with d3.
Weaknesses
- After 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ the check is rather inconvenient for White; against 7.Nbd2, for example, Black has several ways to equalise.
- In the 7.Bd2 main line White's isolated d-pawn can become a weakness.
Who should play it
The Classical Variation suits White players who like classical central play, whether they prefer the open lines after 5.d4 or the slower manoeuvring of the Giuoco Pianissimo.
The numbers
On Lichess White leads at every level, though less as ratings rise: 53.2% against 43.3% under 1400, 52.1% against 44.1% at 1400–1799, 50.6% against 44.7% at 1800–2199 and 48.5% against 44.3% from 2200 up. In about 14,000 master games 52.5% were drawn; White won 26.7% and Black 20.8%.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Italian Game: Classical Variation
4…d6 scores best for Black: 47.0%, with Black winning 44.8% and White 50.9% of 3.6M games. The most played answer, 4…Nf6, scores lowest: 46.6% in 7.5M games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…Nf6.
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: Classical Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.49% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.34% (its peak: 0.57% in 2021).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.34% | 122,433 |
| 2017 | 0.42% | 230,759 |
| 2018 | 0.42% | 332,612 |
| 2019 | 0.43% | 539,716 |
| 2020 | 0.5% | 1,478,200 |
| 2021 | 0.57% | 2,211,589 |
| 2022 | 0.54% | 2,028,419 |
| 2023 | 0.53% | 1,995,495 |
| 2024 | 0.51% | 1,819,278 |
| 2025 | 0.49% | 1,689,501 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.46% | 505,616 |
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
Variations (3)
All 36 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C54 Classical Variation 4 moves
- C53 Closed Variation 4 moves
- C53 La Bourdonnais Variation 6 moves
- C53 Italian Game: Bird's Attack 5 moves
- C54 Center Attack 5 moves
- C53 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Center Holding Variation 5 moves
- C54 Giuoco Pianissimo 5 moves
- C53 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Eisinger Variation 7 moves
- C54 Giuoco Pianissimo 5 moves
- C54 with a6 5 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Dubov Italian 6 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Modern Line 6 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Traditional Line 6 moves
- C53 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Mestel Variation 6 moves
- C53 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Tarrasch Variation 9 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, with d5 5 moves
- C56 Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit 6 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Ghulam-Kassim Variation 9 moves
- C54 Giuoco Pianissimo 7 moves
- C54 Albin Variation 6 moves
- C54 Main Line 9 moves
- C54 with a4 a5 7 moves
- C54 with a6 6 moves
- C54 Modern Line 6 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Cracow Variation 7 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack 7 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Krause Variation 12 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Anderssen Variation 8 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Greco Variation 8 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line 8 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack 9 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Aitken Variation 10 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Bernstein Variation 10 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Steinitz Variation 10 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack 12 moves
- C54 Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Therkatz-Herzog Variation 14 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Giuoco Piano, version of 14 September 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation (C53)”. Lichess data as of 3 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation