Italian Game: Evans Gambit Accepted
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Statistics from Lichess
3,035,652 games: White 52.4% / Draw 3.4% / Black 44.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 3,014,9113M | ||
| 15,48115K | ||
| 2,7892,789 | ||
| 1,3331,333 | ||
| 300300 | ||
| 258258 | ||
| 190190 | ||
| 170170 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.04 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 d6 7. Qb3 Qd7 8. O-O Bb6 9. Nbd2 Na5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 44% under 1400, 50% at 2200 and up and 50% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 662K | |
| 1400–1799 | 2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 173K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,470 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – So, W.
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, V.
- Nakamura, H. – Anand, V.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – So, W.
- Kasparov, G. – Anand, V.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Accepted (ECO C51, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 (4 moves).
In 3,035,652 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.4%, Black 44.2% and 3.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. c3, in 99% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Main Line and Italian Game: Evans Gambit, McDonnell Defense. In all, 38 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Evans Gambit Accepted peaked in 2021 at 0.14% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.098% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.099% | 35,527 |
| 2017 | 0.11% | 61,386 |
| 2018 | 0.12% | 96,045 |
| 2019 | 0.12% | 146,381 |
| 2020 | 0.13% | 386,268 |
| 2021 | 0.14% | 546,382 |
| 2022 | 0.12% | 465,900 |
| 2023 | 0.12% | 433,371 |
| 2024 | 0.11% | 384,187 |
| 2025 | 0.098% | 338,718 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.092% | 100,740 |
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 (5)
All 38 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation 5 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Main Line 5 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mayet Defense 5 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, McDonnell Defense 5 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Stone-Ware Variation 5 moves
- C51 Cordel Line 6 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Bronstein Defense 6 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Harding Variation 8 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Laroche Variation 6 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Leonhardt Countergambit 6 moves
- C51 Main Line 8 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense 6 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Slow Variation 6 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit 9 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit 6 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Defense 7 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense 7 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Dufresne Defense 7 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Göring Attack 10 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Johner Defense 7 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses Defense 7 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Morphy Attack 9 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Richardson Attack 8 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Sokolsky Variation 7 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Tartakower Attack 7 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Ulvestad Variation 10 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Waller Attack 8 moves
- C52 Alapin-Steinitz Variation 7 moves
- C52 Main Line 11 moves
- C52 Potter Variation 11 moves
- C51 Fraser Attack 10 moves
- C52 Lasker Defense 7 moves
- C52 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Levenfish Variation 11 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Paulsen Variation 10 moves
- C52 Sanders-Alapin Variation 7 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Steinitz Variation 11 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Fraser-Mortimer Attack 13 moves
- C51 Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mortimer-Evans Gambit 13 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Evans Gambit Accepted (C51)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-evans-gambit-accepted