Caissa Codex
C58

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Yankovich Variation

Chess diagram: Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Yankovich Variation after 10. Nfd2

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Statistics from Lichess

2,381 games: White 40.2% / Draw 3.8% / Black 56.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2,1882,188
6868
5656
4040
2323
44
22

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

Engine evaluation

−0.41 Black is slightly better

Best play: 10... O-O 11. Nb3 Bg4 12. Qf1 Bb4+ 13. Nc3 a5 14. h3 a4 15. 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, Polerio Defense, Yankovich Variation (ECO C58, Open Games) is a variation of the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Kieseritzky Variation, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. d3 h6 7. Nf3 e4 8. Qe2 Nxc4 9. dxc4 Bc5 10. Nfd2 (10 moves).

In 2,381 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 40.2%, Black 56.0% and 3.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 10…O-O, in 92% of those games.

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Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…h6 7. Nf3 e4 8. Qe2 Nxc4 9. dxc4 Bc5 10. Nfd2, the position after Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Kieseritzky Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Polerio Defense, Yankovich Variation (C58)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-polerio-defense-yankovich-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-polerio-defense-yankovich-variation