Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo
4.3M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · All ratings · All speeds
49.5%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.
Measured over 4.3M games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for White
Draw 4.0 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 4.3M games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 4.3M
- Best context
- 54.2% at 2500+ Blitz
- Worst context
- 46.1% at 0-999 Classical
- Average game length
- 33 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 96.0%
- Draws
- 4.0%
Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.
Where it holds · White score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for White, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It gets better as the rating rises: 49.6% at 0-999, 52.4% at 2500+.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | |||||
| 1000-1199 | |||||
| 1200-1399 | |||||
| 1400-1599 | |||||
| 1600-1799 | |||||
| 1800-1999 | |||||
| 2000-2199 | |||||
| 2200-2499 | |||||
| 2500+ | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
- 0-999 rating, UltraBullet: 51.8% expected score (198 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 49.4% expected score (66,290 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 50.2% expected score (124,685 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 50.3% expected score (99,361 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 46.1% expected score (809 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 48.4% expected score (394 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 49.6% expected score (131,563 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 50.1% expected score (276,981 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 50.4% expected score (159,140 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 49.6% expected score (3,270 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 53.0% expected score (457 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 49.1% expected score (180,486 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 49.6% expected score (437,759 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 49.8% expected score (225,052 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 49.0% expected score (7,208 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 55.2% expected score (335 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 49.2% expected score (192,302 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 49.4% expected score (509,133 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 49.0% expected score (258,941 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 48.3% expected score (11,118 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 65.7% expected score (72 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 49.3% expected score (166,857 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 49.3% expected score (433,754 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 49.7% expected score (197,223 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 49.9% expected score (9,783 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 55.0% expected score (49 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 48.6% expected score (129,747 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 49.1% expected score (266,535 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 49.4% expected score (95,093 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 50.1% expected score (3,317 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 37.2% expected score (18 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 48.7% expected score (76,625 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 49.9% expected score (96,119 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 50.8% expected score (23,047 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 55.7% expected score (459 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 50.0% expected score (41,001 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 52.6% expected score (20,520 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 52.5% expected score (3,185 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 46.4% expected score (67 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 52.4% expected score (9,377 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 54.2% expected score (2,265 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 51.9% expected score (373 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 51.0% expected score (48 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo scores 49.5% for White — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 49.5% and 49.6% — from 4.3M Lichess games. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
How the figures are made
- Whose games these are
- 4.3M+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
- Which games we count
- Rated games only — nothing casual.
- Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
- At least 2 moves played.
- A game is filed under White’s rating.
- Why every number comes with a range
- A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
- How much we need before we say anything
- An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate?
Playing the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, White wins 47.5%, draws 4.0% and loses 48.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.5%. It rests on 4.3M rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo perform best?
The Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 52.7% (12K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 49.6% in Blitz (2.2M games) against 49.7% in Rapid (1.1M games).
How sharp is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo?
The Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo has a sharpness score of 96.0 (very decisive), meaning 96.0% of games end decisively. Average game length is 33 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 0-999?
At 0-999, White wins 48.1%, draws 3.8% and loses 48.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.0%. It rests on 291K Lichess games, which average 27 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 1000-1199?
At 1000-1199, White wins 48.3%, draws 3.5% and loses 48.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.1%. It rests on 571K Lichess games, which average 29 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, White wins 47.7%, draws 3.6% and loses 48.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.6%. It rests on 851K Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, White wins 47.3%, draws 3.8% and loses 48.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.2%. It rests on 972K Lichess games, which average 33 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, White wins 47.3%, draws 4.2% and loses 48.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.4%. It rests on 808K Lichess games, which average 35 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, White wins 46.8%, draws 4.5% and loses 48.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.1%. It rests on 495K Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, White wins 47.1%, draws 4.8% and loses 48.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.6%. It rests on 196K Lichess games, which average 37 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, White wins 48.2%, draws 5.4% and loses 46.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.9%. It rests on 65K Lichess games, which average 39 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, White wins 38.4%, draws 28.7% and loses 33.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.7%. It rests on 12K Lichess games, which average 46 moves.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate in UltraBullet?
In UltraBullet, White wins 52.2%, draws 0.8% and loses 47.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.6%. It rests on 1.5K Lichess games.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, White wins 47.8%, draws 2.8% and loses 49.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.2%. It rests on 994K Lichess games.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, White wins 47.5%, draws 4.2% and loses 48.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.6%. It rests on 2.2M Lichess games.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, White wins 47.3%, draws 4.8% and loses 47.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.7%. It rests on 1.1M Lichess games.
What is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo win rate in Classical?
In Classical, White wins 46.4%, draws 5.6% and loses 48.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.2%. It rests on 36K Lichess games.
Is the Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo a good opening?
The Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo is about level. Across all ratings, White wins 47.5% of its games and loses 48.5%. It performs best at 2500+. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.