Italian Game: Deutz Gambit
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
1,340,824 games: White 58.6% / Draw 3.7% / Black 37.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack | 750,701751K | |
| 421,460421K | ||
| 128,461128K | ||
| 9,4849,484 | ||
| 9,0499,049 | ||
| 8,0038,003 | ||
| 7,9137,913 | ||
| 1,5631,563 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.31 Black is slightly better
Best play: 5... Bxd4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Be3 Nc6 8. f4 Qe7 9. Bd5 exf4 10. Bxf4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 56% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 182K | |
| 1400–1799 | 679K | |
| 1800–2199 | 811K | |
| 2200 and up | 97K | |
| Masters, over the board | 443 |
Master games
- Movsesian, S. – Leko, P.
- Movsesian, S. – Adams, M.
- Dubov, D. – Radjabov, T.
- Short, N. D. – Fressinet, L.
- Robson, R. – Dominguez Perez, L.
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: Deutz Gambit (ECO C50, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d4 (5 moves).
In 1,340,824 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 58.6%, Black 37.7% and 3.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…exd4, in 56% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack Accepted.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Italian Game: Deutz Gambit
5…Bxd4 scores best for Black: 47.9%, with Black winning 45.2% and White 49.4% of 421K games. The most played answer, 5…exd4, scores lowest: 35.9% in 751K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 5…Bxd4.
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
Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Deutz Gambit peaked in 2020 at 0.067% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.044% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.037% | 13,276 |
| 2017 | 0.049% | 26,727 |
| 2018 | 0.056% | 44,008 |
| 2019 | 0.058% | 72,500 |
| 2020 | 0.067% | 197,279 |
| 2021 | 0.057% | 221,484 |
| 2022 | 0.052% | 195,232 |
| 2023 | 0.05% | 186,705 |
| 2024 | 0.047% | 168,983 |
| 2025 | 0.044% | 153,375 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.041% | 45,137 |
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
Variations (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Deutz Gambit (C50)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-deutz-gambit