Evans Gambit: Win Rate by Lichess Rating

Italian Game: Evans Gambit · 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 · CC0 name list

At 1500–1799 (Lichess rating), White scored 54.8% in 1,511 Italian Game: Evans Gambit games (±2.5; games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026).

White won 53.7% of them, Black won 44.1%, and 2.3% were drawn.

White scores above 50% at this level (outside the margin)

In games from Oct 2025–Sep 2026, White scored 54.8% (±2.5) with the Italian Game: Evans Gambit in sampled Lichess games at the 1500–1799 Lichess rating level (1,511 games). Observed results, not causation.

Data period: games from 1 Oct 2025 – 30 Sep 2026 (sample of the Lichess open database) · Page updated: 9 Oct 2026

0.1%

of rated games at Lichess rating 1800–2099 reached the Italian Game: Evans Gambit · 1,350 of 1,329,701 games, Oct 2025–Sep 2026 sample

Under 1200: 0.0%. At 1800–2099: 0.1%. 2.4× as common at 1800–2099 as under 1200.

Position after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4. 4,589 games in this sample reached it — 198 of them by a different move order.

At a glance

In this sample, White's score ranged from 48.7% (2100+) to 56.2% (Under 1200).
Treat this spread with caution: the margins are approximate (see How it works).
It appeared most often in the 1200–1499 group (0.1% of that group's games).
Draws were most common in the 2100+ group (6.2%).

These are observed results for the selected games (rated, players within 200 rating points of each other). They describe what happened — they do not prove the opening caused the result.

Results by Lichess rating level

Each row shows how the Italian Game: Evans Gambit games at one rating level ended: White wins, draws and Black wins, across all time controls combined. Rating level is the average Lichess rating of both players.

White won drawn Black won. Italian Game: Evans Gambit — results by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined (minimum 300 games per row).

Under 1200349 gamesCompared with

White wins 54.7% · draws 2.9% · Black wins 42.4% · White's score 56.2% ±5.1 · how common 0.0%
1200–1499931 games

White wins 51.7% · draws 2.5% · Black wins 45.9% · White's score 52.9% ±3.2 · how common 0.1%
1500–17991,511 games

White wins 53.7% · draws 2.3% · Black wins 44.1% · White's score 54.8% ±2.5 · how common 0.1%
1800–20991,350 gamesIn the headline

White wins 54.0% · draws 3.4% · Black wins 42.6% · White's score 55.7% ±2.6 · how common 0.1%
2100+448 games

White wins 45.5% · draws 6.2% · Black wins 48.2% · White's score 48.7% ±4.5 · how common 0.1%

"White's score" = wins + half of draws. "±" is an approximate 95% margin based only on the number of games. It does not cover sampling bias or related games (the same players appear many times), so real uncertainty is larger. "How common" = share of all sampled games at that level that reached this position. Ratings are Lichess ratings; they are not interchangeable with Chess.com or FIDE ratings.

See the replies most often played next at the Lichess level you choose, on one printable sheet: Prepare replies in Find Your Opening (the sheet needs JavaScript)

Results by time control

Each row shows how the Italian Game: Evans Gambit games ended in one Lichess time control, across all rating levels combined.

Italian Game: Evans Gambit — results by time control, all rating levels combined (minimum 300 games per row)
Time control	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	White's score
Bullet	1,258	51.4%	3.0%	45.6%	52.9%
Blitz	2,381	52.8%	2.9%	44.3%	54.3%
Rapid	916	53.8%	3.5%	42.7%	55.6%
Classical	34	Not enough games in this sample

This table and the rating rows are separate summaries: rating levels are not split by time control here, and time controls are not split by rating. Observed results only; approximate uncertainty applies as above.

Most played replies for Black at each level

Top replies with at least 150 games. "Score" is Black's score after that reply (wins + half of draws). These comparisons alone can't show that one reply is reliably better — the margins are approximate and stronger or weaker players may prefer different replies.

Replies to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 by Lichess rating level, all time controls combined
Rating level	Reply · share · games · score
Under 1200	4...Bxb4 ·62.5% · 218 · 39.7% ±6.4
1200–1499	4...Bxb4 ·59.1% · 550 · 48.1% ±4.1 4...Bb6 ·21.1% · 196 · 49.0% ±7.0
1500–1799	4...Bxb4 ·71.4% · 1,078 · 44.7% ±2.9 4...Bb6 ·16.1% · 243 · 51.2% ±6.2
1800–2099	4...Bxb4 ·80.1% · 1,082 · 43.1% ±2.9
2100+	4...Bxb4 ·80.8% · 362 · 49.0% ±5.0

Up next: related positions with a page

Earlier position: Italian Game: Giuoco Piano 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 (Italian Game)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 (Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fried Liver Attack)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 (Scotch Game)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 (Ponziani Opening)
Related line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 (Three Knights Opening)

Deeper positions with this name

The free opening list gives the name Italian Game: Evans Gambit to 2 deeper positions on this line as well. This page counts the first one; games in the 12-month sample that reached each deeper one:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.O-O d6: 83 games
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d6 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 Bg4: 12 games

Download these numbers: Italian Game: Evans Gambit (CSV), released under CC0. For move-by-move exploration with your own filters, see the free Lichess opening explorer. This independent page lists each rating level and each time control in its own row for comparison.