Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Paoli Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
3,168 games: White 54.2% / Draw 3.8% / Black 42.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,0091,009 | ||
| 839839 | ||
| 546546 | ||
| 445445 | ||
| 150150 | ||
| 9999 | ||
| 3030 | ||
| 1818 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 28, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.63 White is slightly better
Best play: 9... Bg4 10. Qg3 h5 11. Nc3 h4 12. Qe3 Nb7 13. O-O Bc5 14. Qe1
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Paoli Variation (ECO C58, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubow Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. Bd3 (9 moves).
In 3,168 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.2%, Black 42.0% and 3.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…h6, in 32% 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: Two Knights Defense, Paoli Variation
9…Be7 scores best for Black: 47.5%, with Black winning 45.8% and White 50.8% of 839 games. The most played answer, 9…h6, scores lowest: 42.0% in 1,009 games. Stockfish's first choice is 9…Bg4.
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Paoli Variation (C58)”. Lichess data as of 28 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-paoli-variation