Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hirschbach Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
299 games: White 41.8% / Draw 2.3% / Black 55.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 177177 | ||
| 5151 | ||
| 3434 | ||
| 3131 | ||
| 44 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 11 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.81 White is better
Best play: 7. Bxf7+ Kf8 8. Bxg8 Kxg8 9. Bb2 d6 10. h4 Qf4 11. Nf3 Qxe4+
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hirschbach Variation (ECO C51, Open Games) is a declined gambit in the Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Qg5 (6 moves).
In 299 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 41.8%, Black 55.9% and 2.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bxf7+, in 59% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hicken Variation and Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Vasquez Variation.
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Variations (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hirschbach Variation (C51)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-evans-gambit-declined-hirschbach-variation