C54

Italian Game: Classical Variation, with d5

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Statistics from Lichess

226,114 games: White 52.6% / Draw 3.9% / Black 43.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	215,372215K
	3,5443,544
	2,6572,657
	1,3111,311
	723723
	659659
	337337
	324324

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

Engine evaluation

+1.06 White is better

Best play: 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Qb3 Nf6 8. Bxf7+ Kf8 9. Bc4 Na5 10. Qa4 c6

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

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 47% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	122K
1400–1799	227K
1800–2199	106K
2200 and up	8,407
Masters, over the board	10

Master games

Nisipeanu, L. – Melkumyan, H. 1–0, 2017
Asadli, V. – Sadzikowski, D. ½–½, 2015
Mikrut, D. – Repka, C. 1–0, 2016
Ruzhansky, E. – Pruijssers, R. 1–0, 2023
Tissir, M. – Najjar, A. 1–0, 2011

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, with d5 (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 d5 (5 moves).

In 226,114 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.6%, Black 43.4% and 3.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. exd5, in 95% of those games.

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Description

Popularity by year

The Italian Game: Classical Variation, with d5 has gained ground since 2016: 0.0086% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0064% (its peak: 0.0097% in 2021).

0.0064%0.0086%0.0097%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0064%	2,272
2017	0.0074%	4,059
2018	0.007%	5,479
2019	0.0072%	9,034
2020	0.0082%	23,874
2021	0.0097%	37,968
2022	0.0094%	35,142
2023	0.0091%	34,166
2024	0.0088%	31,644
2025	0.0086%	29,903
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0085%	9,325

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, with d5 (C54)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-classical-variation-with-d5