Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening 4. d3 Be7
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Statistics from Lichess
2,760,051 games: White 47.7% / Draw 5.3% / Black 47.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 862,890863K | ||
| 636,226636K | ||
| 489,712490K | ||
| 194,279194K | ||
| 162,659163K | ||
| 117,958118K | ||
| 93,79794K | ||
| 91,03291K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.24 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. Nc3 O-O 6. a4 h6 7. h3 d6 8. O-O Na5 9. Ba2 Nc6
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 worse this line does for Black: Black scores 52% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 514K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 261K | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,854 |
Master games
- Kramnik, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.
- Anand, V. – Carlsen, M.
- Radjabov, T. – Carlsen, M.
- Firouzja, A. – Carlsen, M.
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: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening (ECO C55, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 (4 moves).
In 2,760,051 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.7%, Black 47.0% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. O-O, in 31% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 4…Be7
5. c3 scores best for White: 51.8%, with White winning 49.3% and Black 45.7% of 636K games. The most played, 5. O-O, scores 51.4% in 863K games, and 5. Bg5 scores lowest: 46.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. Nc3.
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
This line has stayed between 0.1% and 0.12% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.11% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 40,207 |
| 2017 | 0.12% | 67,526 |
| 2018 | 0.12% | 92,837 |
| 2019 | 0.11% | 138,750 |
| 2020 | 0.11% | 314,262 |
| 2021 | 0.1% | 392,275 |
| 2022 | 0.1% | 383,061 |
| 2023 | 0.1% | 385,910 |
| 2024 | 0.11% | 391,919 |
| 2025 | 0.11% | 383,917 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.11% | 121,941 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening (C55)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-modern-bishops-opening-2