Source Lichess
White wins at least 8.5 more of every 100 games than it loses
how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident
At All Ratings, Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, Bishop Sacrifice Line keeps White's wins running +8.5% ahead of its losses at worst, 90% confident, from 330K Lichess games. This gambit is effective. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
| Rating | Edge at worst | White Win | Draw | White Loss | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | +11.1% | 55.3% | 2.2% | 42.5% | 10.0K |
| 1000-1199 | +14.3% | 56.7% | 1.9% | 41.4% | 27K |
| 1200-1399 | +13.3% | 56.1% | 1.9% | 42.1% | 50K |
| 1400-1599 | +11.2% | 54.8% | 2.1% | 43.0% | 64K |
| 1600-1799 | +7.2% | 52.6% | 2.6% | 44.8% | 67K |
| 1800-1999 | +4.5% | 51.2% | 2.9% | 46.0% | 60K |
| 2000-2199 | −0.3% | 48.6% | 3.3% | 48.0% | 35K |
| 2200-2499 | +0.7% | 48.9% | 4.3% | 46.8% | 15K |
| 2500+ | +3.5% | 51.5% | 4.7% | 43.8% | 1.5K |
At some ratings. White comes out ahead at 0-1999 and 2200+; at the other ratings we can see, the games do not show it paying. Where it pays changes with the clock, so set yours above and look again.
White wins 53.1% of Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, Bishop Sacrifice Line games, draws 2.5% and loses 44.3%. That rests on 330K games from Lichess.
1000-1199. There White wins at least 14.3 more of every 100 games than it loses (90% confident), its highest Edge at worst.
Rapid. For White, the Edge at worst — how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident — is +8.2% in Blitz (162K games) and +11.4% in Rapid (59K games).
Yes. The first rating where the games do not show White coming out ahead is 2000-2199 in Bullet, 2000-2199 in Blitz and 1000-1199 in Classical. In Rapid, White comes out ahead at every rating we can see.
The Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack, Bishop Sacrifice Line is extremely sharp: 2.5% of its games are drawn, so 97.5% end with a winner.
At 0-1999 and 2200+, where White comes out ahead. At the other ratings we can see, the games do not show it paying. Where it pays changes with the clock, so set yours above and look again.
As Black, take the material, then develop fast, castle early, and trade pieces. Give the material back when doing so kills the attack. At 0-1999 and 2200+, White still comes out ahead in these games; at the other ratings we can see, the games do not show the gambit paying.
This rests on 330K games from Lichess. Every figure carries the range it is in, 90% confident, and the table above shows how many games sit behind each rating and each clock — the fewer there are, the wider that range.