C54

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo 6. c3 d6

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo after 6…d6

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Statistics from Lichess

633,901 games: White 51.0% / Draw 4.8% / Black 44.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	177,099177K
	80,67581K
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo	76,89777K
	74,67575K
	66,17766K
	57,80558K
	41,51342K
	25,19325K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.19 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. Nbd2 Bb6 8. Bb3 Na5 9. Ba4 c5 10. h3 Nc6 11. Re1 h6

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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 46% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	259K
1400–1799	464K
1800–2199	332K
2200 and up	60K
Masters, over the board	4,434

Master games

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

In 633,901 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.0%, Black 44.1% and 4.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. h3, in 28% of those games.

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Description

How to answer 6…d6

7. a4 scores best for White: 56.9%, with White winning 54.5% and Black 40.7% of 75K games. The most played, 7. h3, scores 53.9% in 177K games, and 7. b4 scores lowest: 49.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Nbd2.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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

This line has gained ground since 2016: 0.023% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.014% (its peak: 0.028% in 2020).

0.014%0.023%0.028%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.014%	4,852
2017	0.02%	11,190
2018	0.022%	17,627
2019	0.024%	30,007
2020	0.028%	82,484
2021	0.027%	105,815
2022	0.026%	96,013
2023	0.024%	89,541
2024	0.024%	85,240
2025	0.023%	78,574
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.022%	24,540

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

C54 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo after 7. Nbd2

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (C54)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-5