Italian Game: Scotch Invitation Declined
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Statistics from Lichess
334,650 games: White 55.9% / Draw 5.3% / Black 38.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 198,940199K | ||
| 35,99936K | ||
| 26,66527K | ||
| 22,15622K | ||
| 21,71422K | ||
| 12,57813K | ||
| 7,3717,371 | ||
| 3,5573,557 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.41 White is slightly better
Best play: 5. d5 Nb8 6. Nc3 Be7 7. a4 O-O 8. b3 c6 9. O-O Nbd7
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 45% under 1400, 44% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 410K | |
| 1400–1799 | 385K | |
| 1800–2199 | 154K | |
| 2200 and up | 7,786 | |
| Masters, over the board | 85 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Artemiev, V.
- Praggnanandhaa, R. – Dubov, D.
- Duda, J. – Artemiev, V.
- So, W. – Yakubboev, N.
- Vidit, S. – Nihal, S.
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 Invitation Declined (ECO C56, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Open Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 d6 (4 moves).
In 334,650 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.9%, Black 38.8% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. dxe5, in 59% 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 Invitation Declined
5. Ng5 scores best for White: 63.0%, with White winning 61.4% and Black 35.4% of 27K games. The most played, 5. dxe5, scores 60.1% in 199K games, and 5. O-O scores lowest: 53.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. d5.
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 Invitation Declined has stayed between 0.012% and 0.015% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.013% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.015% | 5,340 |
| 2017 | 0.013% | 7,268 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,397 |
| 2019 | 0.012% | 14,473 |
| 2020 | 0.013% | 38,135 |
| 2021 | 0.013% | 51,406 |
| 2022 | 0.013% | 49,444 |
| 2023 | 0.013% | 48,325 |
| 2024 | 0.013% | 45,822 |
| 2025 | 0.013% | 44,424 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.014% | 14,937 |
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 Invitation Declined (C56)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-scotch-invitation-declined