Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Holzhausen Attack
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
6,692 games: White 36.6% / Draw 4.9% / Black 58.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 2,9722,972 | ||
| 1,8511,851 | ||
| 1,2501,250 | ||
| 367367 | ||
| 8282 | ||
| 5757 | ||
| 2929 | ||
| 2525 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.26 The position is about equal
Best play: 10... Be6 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. Bxd5 O-O-O 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. c3 Ne6 15. Qb3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Holzhausen Attack (ECO C54, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. d4 Bxd4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Bg5 d6 8. f4 Qe7 9. fxe5 dxe5 10. Nc3 (10 moves).
In 6,692 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 36.6%, Black 58.5% and 4.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 10…c6, in 44% 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: Giuoco Piano, Holzhausen Attack
10…Ne6 scores best for Black: 64.4%, with Black winning 62.9% and White 34.1% of 367 games. The most played, 10…c6, scores 60.9% in 2,972 games, and 10…Qc5 scores lowest: 60.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 10…Be6.
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, Holzhausen Attack (C54)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-giuoco-piano-holzhausen-attack