C52

Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense

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Statistics from Lichess

710,682 games: White 54.0% / Draw 3.0% / Black 43.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	497,523498K
	164,308164K
	41,20141K
	2,5412,541
	2,0972,097
	794794
	663663
	424424

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.05 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. Qb3 Qe7 8. O-O Bb6 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxd4 11. Nc3 Nf6

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 48% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 52% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	44K
1400–1799	295K
1800–2199	464K
2200 and up	47K
Masters, over the board	356

Master games

Vachier Lagrave, M. – So, W. 1–0, 2019
Short, N. D. – Kasparov, G. 0–1, 2011
Morozevich, A. – Adams, M. 0–1, 2001
Short, N. D. – Adams, M. ½–½, 2000
Umansky, M. M. – Timmerman, G. J. ½–½, 2005

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, Pierce Defense (ECO C52, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Main Line, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 (6 moves).

In 710,682 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.0%, Black 43.0% and 3.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. O-O, in 70% of those games.

It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Compromised Defense and Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mieses Defense. In all, 8 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense

7. Qb3 scores best for White: 59.4%, with White winning 57.9% and Black 39.2% of 164K games. The most played, 7. O-O, scores 55.4% in 498K games, and 7. Nxd4 scores lowest: 43.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7. Qb3.

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, Pierce Defense peaked in 2021 at 0.031% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.024% in 2025.

0.022%0.024%0.031%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.022%	7,746
2017	0.026%	14,532
2018	0.031%	24,055
2019	0.028%	34,412
2020	0.029%	86,123
2021	0.031%	122,955
2022	0.029%	108,728
2023	0.028%	103,868
2024	0.026%	92,776
2025	0.024%	81,609
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.022%	24,425

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 (6)

All 8 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Pierce Defense (C52)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-evans-gambit-pierce-defense