Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
273,419 games: White 49.5% / Draw 3.2% / Black 47.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 85,80286K | ||
| 42,56043K | ||
| 38,33638K | ||
| 27,46327K | ||
| 22,72023K | ||
| 18,88719K | ||
| 14,39314K | ||
| 10,44810K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.36 White is better
Best play: 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Ng5 d5 7. Nxd5 h6 8. Nf3 Be6 9. Be3 fxe4
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 (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 105K | |
| 1400–1799 | 248K | |
| 1800–2199 | 138K | |
| 2200 and up | 5,251 | |
| Masters, over the board | — | no games |
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: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit (ECO C50, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 f5 (4 moves).
In 273,419 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 47.3% and 3.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. O-O, in 31% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Dubois Variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit
5. Be3 scores best for White: 55.5%, with White winning 53.3% and Black 42.4% of 14K games. The most played, 5. O-O, scores 54.9% in 86K games, and 5. Ng5 scores lowest: 35.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. Nc3.
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: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit is played more than 31 times as often as in 2016: 0.021% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.00067%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.00067% | 239 |
| 2017 | 0.00059% | 323 |
| 2018 | 0.00069% | 540 |
| 2019 | 0.00091% | 1,138 |
| 2020 | 0.0012% | 3,580 |
| 2021 | 0.0018% | 7,192 |
| 2022 | 0.0082% | 30,973 |
| 2023 | 0.016% | 61,382 |
| 2024 | 0.019% | 66,428 |
| 2025 | 0.021% | 73,123 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.021% | 22,686 |
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: Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit (C50)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-giuoco-pianissimo-lucchini-gambit