Italian Game: Classical Variation, Albin Gambit
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
2,359,586 games: White 52.5% / Draw 3.9% / Black 43.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 889,502890K | ||
| 711,294711K | ||
| 378,927379K | ||
| 89,96290K | ||
| 86,22486K | ||
| 72,43172K | ||
| 69,34069K | ||
| 16,31316K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.26 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... Nxe4 6. d4 d5 7. Nxe5 Nxe5 8. Bb3 O-O 9. f3 Nf6 10. dxc5
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 53% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 545K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 74K | |
| Masters, over the board | 53 |
Master games
- Vatsal, S. – Sethuraman, S.
- Rodriguez Vila, A. – Sorin, A.
- Radulovic, B. – Georgiev, K.
- Torre, E. – Gomez, J.
- Barua, D. – Koshy, 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
Overview
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Albin Gambit (ECO C50, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. c3 (5 moves).
In 2,359,586 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.5%, Black 43.6% and 3.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…O-O, in 38% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Albin Gambit
5…Nxe4 scores best for Black: 52.8%, with Black winning 50.7% and White 45.1% of 379K games. The most played answer, 5…O-O, scores lowest: 41.6% in 890K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Nxe4.
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, Albin Gambit has gained ground since 2016: 0.08% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.065% (its peak: 0.1% in 2021).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.065% | 23,254 |
| 2017 | 0.086% | 47,390 |
| 2018 | 0.093% | 73,205 |
| 2019 | 0.089% | 110,893 |
| 2020 | 0.094% | 274,619 |
| 2021 | 0.1% | 399,269 |
| 2022 | 0.098% | 369,550 |
| 2023 | 0.095% | 357,809 |
| 2024 | 0.088% | 314,900 |
| 2025 | 0.08% | 276,207 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.075% | 82,212 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation, Albin Gambit (C50)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-albin-gambit