Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo

Chess opening · ECO C54 · 9 half-moves

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3

The Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3. It is Black's move in the position shown.

It branches from the Italian Game: Classical Variation with 4… Nf6 5. d3.

How often it is played

The Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo and its variations appeared in 0.17% of games — 5,238 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 199 of the openings listed here.

Results

White won 50%, 4.1% were drawn and Black won 46%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.

What the engine thinks

Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.30 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.

Similar openings

The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.

Main continuations

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