Caissa Codex
C54

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack after 12. g4

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.

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

1,719 games: White 46.9% / Draw 6.3% / Black 46.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
1,0091,009
628628
5050
1313
99
44
22
11

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.42 Black is slightly better

Best play: 12... O-O 13. g5 Be5 14. Nxe5 Bf5 15. Re2 dxe5 16. Rxe5 Qd7 17. Re1

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack (ECO C54, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6 12. g4 (12 moves).

In 1,719 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.9%, Black 46.8% and 6.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 12…h6, in 59% of those games.

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

Write a description or report a mistake
What would you like to send?

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

How to play against the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack

12…O-O scores best for Black: 53.6%, with Black winning 50.3% and White 43.2% of 628 games. The most played answer, 12…h6, scores lowest: 48.6% in 1,009 games. Stockfish's first choice is also 12…O-O.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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 9…Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6 12. g4, the position after Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack (C54)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-greco-gambit-moeller-bayonet-attack

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-greco-gambit-moeller-bayonet-attack