Italian Game: Classical Variation
Chess opening · ECO C53 · 7 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3
The Italian Game: Classical Variation is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano with 4. c3.
How often it is played
The Italian Game: Classical Variation and its variations appeared in 0.48% of games — 14,504 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 92 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 51%, 3.7% were drawn and Black won 45%. 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 +0.33 — 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.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 | 0.45% |
| Italian Game: Two Knights Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 | 1.8% |
| Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 h6 | 0.47% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 | 0.17% |
| Italian Game: Classical Variation, Center Attack | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 | 0.12% |
| Italian Game: Classical Variation, La Bourdonnais Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb6 | 0.03% |
| Italian Game: Bird's Attack | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. b4 | 0.01% |
| Italian Game: Classical Variation, Closed Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 | 0.00% |
Check your own games
Paste a game, or share one straight from lichess or chess.com, and Chess Analyzer names the opening, marks where the game left known theory and grades every move after it.
Open the analyzer