Caissa Codex
C54

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo 6…O-O 7. O-O

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo after 7. O-O

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

109,191 games: White 52.8% / Draw 5.0% / Black 42.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
30,21130K
20,69921K
19,23119K
13,12313K
7,5527,552
4,7124,712
4,3244,324
4,1374,137

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.14 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... a5 8. h3 h6 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bb5 Nd7 11. Nf1 d5 12. Ng3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (ECO C54, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O (7 moves).

In 109,191 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.8%, Black 42.1% and 5.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Bg4, in 28% of those games.

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How to answer 7. O-O

7…a5 scores best for Black: 53.0%, with Black winning 49.9% and White 44.0% of 7,552 games. The most played answer, 7…Bg4, scores lowest: 40.9% in 30K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…a5.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O, the position after Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (C54)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-11

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-11