Caissa Codex
C56

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation after 7. c3

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Statistics from Lichess

48,275 games: White 61.9% / Draw 3.0% / Black 35.1%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
22,00022K
13,33913K
7,0237,023
2,6262,626
1,0531,053
797797
776776
200200

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.33 White is slightly better

Best play: 7... d5 8. Bb5 dxc3 9. h3 cxb2 10. Bxb2 Nh6 11. Qc2 Be7 12. Nd4

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation (ECO C56, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 Ng4 7. c3 (7 moves).

In 48,275 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 61.9%, Black 35.1% and 3.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…dxc3, in 46% of those games.

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How to play against the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation

7…d5 scores best for Black: 49.1%, with Black winning 47.4% and White 49.2% of 2,626 games. The most played answer, 7…dxc3, scores lowest: 32.6% in 22K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…Bc5 6. e5 Ng4 7. c3, the position after Italian Game: Scotch Gambit also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation (C56)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-max-lange-attack-krause-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-max-lange-attack-krause-variation