Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses Defense
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
114,830 games: White 53.6% / Draw 3.1% / Black 43.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 54,94955K | ||
| 38,31938K | ||
| 13,26713K | ||
| 3,8763,876 | ||
| 1,5791,579 | ||
| 1,1471,147 | ||
| 878878 | ||
| 461461 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 8. cxd4 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Ba3 Be6 11. Bb5 f6 12. Qa4 Bb6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses Defense (ECO C52, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O Nge7 (7 moves).
In 114,830 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.6%, Black 43.3% and 3.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 8. cxd4, in 48% of those games.
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, Mieses Defense
8. Ng5 scores best for White: 71.6%, with White winning 70.3% and Black 27.2% of 38K games. The most played, 8. cxd4, scores 48.9% in 55K games, and 8. Qb3 scores lowest: 41.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 8. cxd4.
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses Defense (C52)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-evans-gambit-mieses-defense