Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
634,254 games: White 49.2% / Draw 4.1% / Black 46.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 500,850501K | ||
| 69,08769K | ||
| 60,90161K | ||
| 978978 | ||
| 738738 | ||
| 488488 | ||
| 387387 | ||
| 190190 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.01 The position is about equal
Best play: 6. d4 Na5 7. Bd3 d6 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Nf6 10. O-O O-O
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 50% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 40K | |
| 1400–1799 | 291K | |
| 1800–2199 | 394K | |
| 2200 and up | 48K | |
| Masters, over the board | 435 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – So, W.
- Kasparov, G. – Anand, V.
- Kryvoruchko, Y. – Karjakin, S.
- Erigaisi, A. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Kasparov, G. – Short, N. D.
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: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation (ECO C51, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Evans Gambit Accepted, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 (5 moves).
In 634,254 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 46.7% and 4.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. d4, in 79% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation, Cordel Line.
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: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation
The most played answer, 6. d4, also scores best for White: 52.1%, with White winning 50.1% and Black 45.8% of 501K games. Of the main answers, 6. O-O scores lowest: 45.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. d4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation peaked in 2021 at 0.027% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.022% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.021% | 7,487 |
| 2017 | 0.024% | 13,224 |
| 2018 | 0.026% | 20,587 |
| 2019 | 0.024% | 30,438 |
| 2020 | 0.027% | 78,286 |
| 2021 | 0.027% | 106,175 |
| 2022 | 0.025% | 95,433 |
| 2023 | 0.024% | 91,555 |
| 2024 | 0.024% | 84,353 |
| 2025 | 0.022% | 75,278 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.02% | 22,368 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation (C51)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-evans-gambit-anderssen-variation