Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation
Chess opening · ECO C50 · 9 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3
The Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo with 4… Nf6 5. Nc3.
How often it is played
The Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation and its variations appeared in 0.25% of games — 7,379 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 162 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 50%, 3.8% 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 +0.18 — which is level. 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: Classical Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 | 0.48% |
| 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: Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 | 0.04% |
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