Caissa Codex
C51

Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Vasquez Variation

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Vasquez Variation after 8. Qh5

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Statistics from Lichess

10 games: White 20.0% / Draw 0.0% / Black 80.0%

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Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
77
33

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 23, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.24 The position is about equal

Best play: 8... Qxh5 9. Bxh5 Bd4 10. Nf7 Bxa1 11. Nxh8 d6 12. c3 Nf6 13. Bf3

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

Overview

Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Vasquez Variation (ECO C51, Open Games) is a declined gambit in the Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hirschbach Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Qg5 7. Bxf7+ Ke7 8. Qh5 (8 moves).

In 10 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 20.0%, Black 80.0% and 0.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…Qxg2, in 70% of those games. That is too few games for the percentages to mean much.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 7. Bxf7+ Ke7 8. Qh5, the position after Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hirschbach Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Vasquez Variation (C51)”. Lichess data as of 23 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-evans-gambit-declined-vasquez-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-evans-gambit-declined-vasquez-variation