Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Rosentreter Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
31,821 games: White 73.1% / Draw 3.0% / Black 23.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 8,8358,835 | ||
| 7,4997,499 | ||
| 4,5414,541 | ||
| 3,5033,503 | ||
| 3,4093,409 | ||
| 1,6821,682 | ||
| 741741 | ||
| 587587 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 9... d5 10. exd5 gxh4 11. fxe5 Nxd5 12. Qxd4 Be6 13. Qf2 Qe7 14. Bxd5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Rosentreter Variation (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 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. f4 (9 moves).
In 31,821 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 73.1%, Black 23.9% and 3.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…gxh4, in 28% 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, Rosentreter Variation
9…d5 scores best for Black: 44.1%, with Black winning 42.0% and White 53.7% of 3,409 games. The most played, 9…gxh4, scores 31.8% in 8,835 games, and 9…gxf4 scores lowest: 9.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 9…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, Rosentreter Variation (C54)”. Lichess data as of 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-giuoco-piano-rosentreter-variation