Italian Game: Evans Gambit
C51 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
Black scores 45.0% here across 433 club games — but the 5.8% who answer Nxb4 score 40.0%, 5 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 433 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 45.0% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bxb4 | 335 | 77.4% | 44.0% | holds up |
| Bb6 | 67 | 15.5% | 55.2% | holds up |
| Nxb4 | 25 | 5.8% | 40.0% | 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.