Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Aitken Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
54,102 games: White 70.2% / Draw 2.8% / Black 27.1%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 28,23228K | ||
| 20,02920K | ||
| 2,7632,763 | ||
| 2,4562,456 | ||
| 357357 | ||
| 110110 | ||
| 4747 | ||
| 2929 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+3.36 White is clearly better
Best play: 10... d5 11. Bb5 Bxa1 12. Re1+ Be6 13. Qc2 Qd7 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. Bxd7+
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Aitken Variation (ECO C54, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Greco Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc3 10. Ba3 (10 moves).
In 54,102 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 70.2%, Black 27.1% and 2.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 10…d6, in 52% of those games.
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How to play against the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Aitken Variation
10…d5 scores best for Black: 39.6%, with Black winning 37.7% and White 58.4% of 2,763 games. The most played, 10…d6, scores 38.4% in 28K games, and 10…Bxa1 scores lowest: 12.2%. Stockfish's first choice is also 10…d5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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: Giuoco Piano, Aitken Variation (C54)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-giuoco-piano-aitken-variation