Caissa Codex
C54

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a4 a5

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a4 a5 after 7…a5

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

69,088 games: White 49.2% / Draw 5.2% / Black 45.6%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
15,82316K
15,40315K
10,61211K
9,4879,487
7,2647,264
2,9172,917
2,1312,131
1,2611,261

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.02 The position is about equal

Best play: 8. h3 h6 9. Re1 Be6 10. Nbd2 Bxc4 11. Nxc4 Re8 12. Be3 b6

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, with a4 a5 (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. O-O O-O 7. a4 a5 (7 moves).

In 69,088 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 45.6% and 5.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. h3, in 23% of those games.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

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How to play against the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a4 a5

8. Be3 scores best for White: 53.1%, with White winning 50.6% and Black 44.3% of 9,487 games. The most played, 8. h3, scores 51.8% in 16K games, and 8. Re1 scores lowest: 50.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. h3.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6. O-O O-O 7. a4 a5, the position after Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a4 a5 (C54)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-with-a4-a5

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-with-a4-a5