Caissa Codex
C54

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a6 6. Nbd2 a6

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with a6 after 6…a6

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

48,960 games: White 50.4% / Draw 5.6% / Black 43.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
26,24326K
6,4356,435
5,9895,989
4,2234,223
2,4332,433
1,8241,824
978978
330330

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.18 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. Nf1 h6 8. Ng3 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. b4 Bb6

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 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 d6 6. Nbd2 a6 (6 moves).

In 48,960 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 43.9% and 5.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bb3, in 54% of those games.

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How to answer 6…a6

The most played answer, 7. Bb3, also scores best for White: 55.5%, with White winning 52.6% and Black 41.6% of 26K games. Of the main answers, 7. a4 scores lowest: 50.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Nf1.

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. Nbd2 a6, 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 a6 (C54)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-with-a6-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-giuoco-pianissimo-with-a6-2