Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo 6. c3 a6
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Statistics from Lichess
226,920 games: White 47.0% / Draw 5.3% / Black 47.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 53,07253K | ||
| 52,30552K | ||
| 26,57027K | ||
| 26,48826K | ||
| 16,53717K | ||
| 14,45414K | ||
| 11,91812K | ||
| 9,7759,775 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.18 The position is about equal
Best play: 7. Re1 Ba7 8. a4 O-O 9. h3 Re8 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bxe6 Rxe6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 49% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 18K | |
| 1400–1799 | 69K | |
| 1800–2199 | 117K | |
| 2200 and up | 68K | |
| Masters, over the board | 3,963 |
Master games
- Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Kramnik, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M.
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 d6 6. c3 a6 (6 moves).
In 226,920 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.0%, Black 47.7% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bb3, in 23% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations. In all, 5 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 6…a6
The most played answer, 7. Bb3, also scores best for White: 52.2%, with White winning 49.4% and Black 45.0% of 53K games. Of the main answers, 7. b4 scores lowest: 47.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Re1.
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 is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.0096% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0041%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0041% | 1,462 |
| 2017 | 0.0071% | 3,921 |
| 2018 | 0.0082% | 6,467 |
| 2019 | 0.0081% | 10,071 |
| 2020 | 0.0088% | 25,757 |
| 2021 | 0.0075% | 29,503 |
| 2022 | 0.0087% | 32,667 |
| 2023 | 0.0091% | 34,098 |
| 2024 | 0.01% | 35,835 |
| 2025 | 0.0096% | 33,342 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0097% | 10,639 |
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 (2)
All 5 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo (C54)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-6