Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo
C54 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. c3 d5
Black scores 46.7% here across 850 club games — but the 5.8% who answer a6 score 38.8%, 8 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 850 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 46.7% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| d6 | 353 | 41.5% | 47.2% | holds up |
| O-O | 232 | 27.3% | 48.9% | holds up |
| h6 | 121 | 14.2% | 47.1% | holds up |
| a6 | 49 | 5.8% | 38.8% | below the line |
| d5 | 43 | 5.1% | 41.9% | 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.