C54

Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack

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Statistics from Lichess

1,476,290 games: White 51.2% / Draw 4.5% / Black 44.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	959,548960K
	191,700192K
	140,120140K
	89,86390K
	75,49275K
	10,31610K
	4,8484,848
	1,4951,495

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.18 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Ne5 10. Qe2 O-O 11. bxc3 Nxc4 12. Qxe4

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

By rating

The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 54% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	418K
1400–1799	1.2M
1800–2199	756K
2200 and up	71K
Masters, over the board	214

Master games

Van Foreest, J. – Aronian, L. 1–0, 2021
Gashimov, V. – Dominguez Perez, L. ½–½, 2010
Dzindzichashvili, R. – Karpov, A. ½–½, 1988
Beerdsen, T. – L'Ami, E. 0–1, 2024
Felgaer, R. – Lafuente, P. 0–1, 2009

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 Piano, Greco's Attack (ECO C54, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Traditional Line, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 (7 moves).

In 1,476,290 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.2%, Black 44.3% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Nxe4, in 65% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Main Line and Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, Greco Variation. In all, 8 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack

The most played answer, 7…Nxe4, also scores best for Black: 47.9%, with Black winning 45.7% and White 49.8% of 960K games. Of the main answers, 7…d6 scores lowest: 42.7%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…Nxe4.

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

Popularity by year

The Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack peaked in 2020 at 0.063% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.052% in 2025.

0.047%0.052%0.063%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.047%	16,968
2017	0.059%	32,370
2018	0.058%	45,563
2019	0.054%	67,182
2020	0.063%	185,809
2021	0.063%	245,442
2022	0.059%	220,254
2023	0.058%	218,758
2024	0.053%	190,559
2025	0.052%	180,418
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.048%	52,646

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 (2)

All 8 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack (C54)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-giuoco-piano-grecos-attack