Italian Game: Classical Variation
C53 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3
Black scores 46.3% here across 601 club games — but the 24.8% who answer d6 score 41.6%, 5 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 601 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 46.3% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nf6 | 334 | 55.6% | 47.2% | holds up |
| d6 | 149 | 24.8% | 41.6% | below the line |
| h6 | 54 | 9.0% | 49.1% | holds up |
| a6 | 28 | 4.7% | 39.3% | below the line |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.