C54

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a6

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Statistics from Lichess

298,118 games: White 49.1% / Draw 5.1% / Black 45.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	74,35174K
	65,24065K
	50,13150K
	34,52335K
	19,14119K
	17,08317K
	10,84411K
	10,14510K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 24, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.20 The position is about equal

Best play: 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. O-O d6 8. a4 Ba7 9. h3 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6

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 47% 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	59K
1400–1799	184K
1800–2199	142K
2200 and up	57K
Masters, over the board	3,902

Master games

Vachier Lagrave, M. – Carlsen, M. 1–0, 2017
Kramnik, V. – So, W. ½–½, 2017
So, W. – Caruana, F. 1–0, 2020
So, W. – Caruana, F. 0–1, 2020
Caruana, F. – Aronian, L. ½–½, 2015

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, with a6 (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 a6 (5 moves).

In 298,118 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.1%, Black 45.8% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. O-O, in 25% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a6

6. Bb3 scores best for White: 54.0%, with White winning 51.4% and Black 43.4% of 65K games. The most played, 6. O-O, scores 51.5% in 74K games, and 6. b4 scores lowest: 48.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 6. 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

The Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a6 has gained ground since 2016: 0.013% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0071%.

0.0071%0.013%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0071%	2,529
2017	0.0098%	5,393
2018	0.011%	8,343
2019	0.01%	12,585
2020	0.011%	32,768
2021	0.011%	42,515
2022	0.012%	43,612
2023	0.012%	43,703
2024	0.013%	44,964
2025	0.013%	43,527
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.013%	13,795

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a6 (C54)”. Lichess data as of 24 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-with-a6