Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
448,706 games: White 44.0% / Draw 3.2% / Black 52.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 198,964199K | ||
| 149,177149K | ||
| 93,77394K | ||
| 3,7503,750 | ||
| 1,8191,819 | ||
| 520520 | ||
| 233233 | ||
| 112112 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026
Engine evaluation
+3.63 White is clearly better
Even so, Black scores 54.4% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.
Best play: 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. d4 h6 7. Nxe4 Kxf7 8. d5 Nd4 9. c3 Qh4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 51% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 601K | |
| 1400–1799 | 581K | |
| 1800–2199 | 187K | |
| 2200 and up | 7,973 | |
| Masters, over the board | 1 |
Master games
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, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit (ECO C57, Open Games) is a gambit in the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Nxe4 (4 moves).
In 448,706 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.0%, Black 52.8% and 3.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. Bxf7+, in 44% 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, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit
The most played answer, 5. Bxf7+, also scores best for White: 57.4%, with White winning 55.7% and Black 41.0% of 199K games. Of the main answers, 5. Nxf7 scores lowest: 32.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. Bxf7+.
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
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.019% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0068% (its peak: 0.024% in 2022).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0068% | 2,431 |
| 2017 | 0.008% | 4,392 |
| 2018 | 0.0073% | 5,742 |
| 2019 | 0.0094% | 11,685 |
| 2020 | 0.01% | 29,227 |
| 2021 | 0.013% | 49,517 |
| 2022 | 0.024% | 91,066 |
| 2023 | 0.024% | 88,485 |
| 2024 | 0.02% | 71,086 |
| 2025 | 0.019% | 66,801 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.02% | 22,075 |
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, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit (C57)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/italian-game-two-knights-defense-ponziani-steinitz-gambit