Italian Game: Paris Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
8,361,843 games: White 51.5% / Draw 4.6% / Black 43.9%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,828,0951.8M | ||
| 1,452,4851.5M | ||
| 1,402,0541.4M | ||
| 1,356,8501.4M | ||
| 1,128,1791.1M | ||
| 982,675983K | ||
| 95,67996K | ||
| 36,29436K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.43 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Bf4 Nd7
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 46% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 7.6M | |
| 1400–1799 | 10.2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 86K | |
| Masters, over the board | 701 |
Master games
- Gukesh, D. – Carlsen, M.
- Niemann, H. M. – Caruana, F.
- Anand, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Aronian, L. – Artemiev, V.
- Duda, J. – Artemiev, V.
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 26, 2026
Overview
Italian Game: Paris Defense (ECO C50, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 (3 moves).
In 8,361,843 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.5%, Black 43.9% and 4.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. d4, in 22% of those games.
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: Paris Defense
4. c3 scores best for White: 55.3%, with White winning 53.2% and Black 42.7% of 1.4M games. The most played, 4. d4, scores 54.7% in 1.8M games, and 4. d3 scores lowest: 52.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. d4.
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: Paris Defense has stayed between 0.27% and 0.35% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.31% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.3% | 107,488 |
| 2017 | 0.29% | 158,836 |
| 2018 | 0.27% | 213,283 |
| 2019 | 0.3% | 373,872 |
| 2020 | 0.32% | 943,107 |
| 2021 | 0.35% | 1,367,202 |
| 2022 | 0.34% | 1,290,826 |
| 2023 | 0.33% | 1,254,794 |
| 2024 | 0.32% | 1,150,554 |
| 2025 | 0.31% | 1,061,757 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.29% | 321,004 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Paris Defense (C50)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-paris-defense