Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation
C50 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3
Black scores 46.5% here across 1,583 club games — but the 6.1% who answer Ng4 score 39.1%, 7 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 1,583 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 46.5% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| d6 | 527 | 33.3% | 44.9% | holds up |
| O-O | 476 | 30.1% | 45.3% | holds up |
| h6 | 372 | 23.5% | 53.4% | holds up |
| Ng4 | 96 | 6.1% | 39.1% | below the line |
| a6 | 36 | 2.3% | 47.2% | holds up |
| Nd4 | 30 | 1.9% | 38.3% | 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.