Tree path 12 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Italian Game › Giuoco Piano › Italian Game: Classical Variation › Italian Game: Classical Variation › Center Attack › Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Traditional Line › Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack › Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line › Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Italian Game C50
- Giuoco Piano C50
- Italian Game: Classical Variation C53
- Italian Game: Classical Variation C54
- Center Attack C54
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Traditional Line C54
- Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack C54
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line C54
- Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack C54 you are here
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack
Overview
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Therkatz Attack belongs to the gambit family of chess openings (ECO C54, Open Games). It trades material for attacking chances — a classic trade-off that has fascinated players from the Romantic era to modern correspondence chess.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 17 plies and takes 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 to reach the canonical position.
The line refines Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line, which traces back to the root opening King's Pawn Game.
The line splits into 2 documented sub-systems: Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Moeller-Bayonet Attack, Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Therkatz-Herzog Variation.
Explore the position on the interactive board, study its real-world results from Lichess, and challenge the engine when you are ready.
- ECO code
- C54
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 17
- Direct variations
- 2
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
219,891 games · White 49.7% / Draw 5.8% / Black 44.5%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Bf6 | 88,174 | |
| Ne5 | 54,161 | |
| Na5 | 27,707 | |
| Ne7 | 24,815 | |
| O-O | 14,585 | |
| Ba5 | 3,164 | |
| Nd6 | 3,042 | |
| Bxb2 | 1,792 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 03:15:51
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