Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubow Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
891,158 games: White 50.6% / Draw 3.6% / Black 45.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 261,465261K | ||
| 165,477165K | ||
| 129,586130K | ||
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Colman Variation | 89,67290K | |
| 66,30066K | ||
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Blackburne Variation | 60,51961K | |
| 27,15027K | ||
| 26,51227K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.01 The position is about equal
Best play: 8... cxb5 9. Qxa8 Qc7 10. Qf3 Nc6 11. c3 Bg4 12. Qg3 Nd4 13. Na3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up and 51% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 88K | |
| 1400–1799 | 493K | |
| 1800–2199 | 520K | |
| 2200 and up | 59K | |
| Masters, over the board | 485 |
Master games
- Erigaisi, A. – Keymer, V.
- Yu, Y. – Ding, L.
- Duda, J. – Aronian, L.
- Firouzja, A. – Yakubboev, N.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Tomashevsky, E.
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: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubow Variation (ECO C58, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bishop Check Line, 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 (8 moves).
In 891,158 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.6%, Black 45.7% and 3.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…Bb7, in 29% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Colman Variation and Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Blackburne Variation.
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, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubow Variation
8…Be7 scores best for Black: 53.0%, with Black winning 51.1% and White 45.1% of 165K games. The most played, 8…Bb7, scores 46.0% in 261K games, and 8…Bd7 scores lowest: 43.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 8…cxb5.
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
Popularity by year
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubow Variation peaked in 2022 at 0.037% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.03% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.03% | 10,853 |
| 2017 | 0.036% | 19,617 |
| 2018 | 0.035% | 27,416 |
| 2019 | 0.034% | 42,771 |
| 2020 | 0.033% | 97,784 |
| 2021 | 0.036% | 140,480 |
| 2022 | 0.037% | 139,994 |
| 2023 | 0.037% | 139,336 |
| 2024 | 0.035% | 123,837 |
| 2025 | 0.03% | 105,614 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.028% | 31,095 |
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
Variations (3)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Bogoljubow Variation (C58)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-polerio-defense-bogoljubow-variation