Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
458,382 games: White 60.8% / Draw 3.0% / Black 36.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 129,349129K | ||
| 127,546128K | ||
| 85,65486K | ||
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation | 33,16233K | |
| 27,13727K | ||
| 22,31022K | ||
| 19,39219K | ||
| 6,2766,276 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.48 White is slightly better
Best play: 7. Bf4 O-O 8. h3 Nh6 9. Bxh6 gxh6 10. c3 dxc3 11. Nxc3 d6
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 better this line does for Black: Black scores 41% under 1400, 45% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 71K | |
| 1400–1799 | 377K | |
| 1800–2199 | 221K | |
| 2200 and up | 5,537 | |
| Masters, over the board | 9 |
Master games
- De Dovitiis, A. – Krysa, L.
- Volovikov, A. – Budnikov, O.
- Pirrot, D. – Thinius, M.
- Leygue, D. – Flear, G. C.
- Belyakov, B. – Myshkin, N.
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: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense (ECO C56, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 Ng4 (6 moves).
In 458,382 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 60.8%, Black 36.2% and 3.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. Bxf7+, in 28% 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: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense
The most played answer, 7. Bxf7+, also scores best for White: 66.3%, with White winning 65.1% and Black 32.5% of 129K games. Of the main answers, 7. h3 scores lowest: 58.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. Bf4.
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: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense peaked in 2020 at 0.023% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.015% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.017% | 6,082 |
| 2017 | 0.018% | 10,093 |
| 2018 | 0.019% | 14,653 |
| 2019 | 0.019% | 24,191 |
| 2020 | 0.023% | 66,991 |
| 2021 | 0.02% | 76,901 |
| 2022 | 0.018% | 67,200 |
| 2023 | 0.017% | 63,434 |
| 2024 | 0.016% | 56,498 |
| 2025 | 0.015% | 51,078 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.014% | 15,351 |
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: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense (C56)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-scotch-gambit-max-lange-attack-spielmann-defense