Italian Game: Giuoco Piano
Chess opening · ECO C50 · 6 half-moves
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5
The Italian Game: Giuoco Piano is reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Italian Game with 3… Bc5.
How often it is played
The Italian Game: Giuoco Piano and its variations appeared in 1.4% of games — 43,226 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 34 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 50%, 3.8% were drawn and Black won 47%. 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 +0.36 — 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: 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% |
| Italian Game: Paris Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 | 0.37% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Game: Classical Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 | 0.48% |
| Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 | 0.45% |
| Italian Game: Evans Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 | 0.08% |
| Italian Game: Classical Variation, Albin Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. c3 | 0.05% |
| Italian Game: Rosentreter Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d4 | 0.02% |
| Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, with h6 | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 | 0.02% |
| Italian Game: Jerome Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Bxf7+ | 0.01% |
| Italian Game: Deutz Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d4 | 0.01% |
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