C50: Italian Game (Giuoco Piano)

C50

Definition

C50 is the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) code assigned to the starting tabiya of the Italian Game: Giuoco Piano. Concretely, it arises after the moves:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5

Positions that occur before White plays the central break 4.d4 are catalogued under C50. Once 4.d4 appears, many continuations migrate to codes C53–C54, whereas early deviations such as 4.b4 (the Evans Gambit) or 4.c3 can still remain in the C50 family.

How the Code Is Used

The ECO system (codes A00–E99) is the global indexing scheme for opening theory in databases, books, and online portals. When you see C50 alongside a game, you instantly know it began with an Italian Game in which:

Both sides have developed the king’s bishop to its most natural square.
No central pawn clash (d4 vs. …d5) has yet occurred.
The position is still “quiet” compared to the sharper C53–C54 lines.

Players, coaches, and engines filter millions of games by ECO code to study typical plans—so tagging a file “C50” helps you drill down on calm, strategic Italian structures without the tactical storms of gambits or early d4 breaks.

Typical Move-Order Tree

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5, the most common C50 continuations are:

4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 — the so-called Pianissimo (“very quiet”) where both sides prepare d4/d5 under optimal circumstances.
4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 — another quiet line, popular in modern elite play.
4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 — the gambit-oriented Evans Gambit; although some databases shift the code to C51, many resources still list the first few moves under C50.
4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 — a transposition into Pianissimo structures without revealing White’s intentions too early.

Strategic Themes

Because the center remains fluid, both sides aim for long-term piece maneuvering:

Compact Center. White often keeps the e4-pawn supported by d3 or c3, waiting for the right moment to strike with d4.
“Spanish”–style Manoeuvres. Knights dance between f3–g5–h4 or d2–f1–g3, while Black mirrors with …Nf6 – …g6, …Re8, and …Bf8.
Slow Pawn Storms. When opposite-side castling occurs (usually in Evans Gambit lines), pawn storms become thematic: a- and b-pawns for White, f- and g-pawns for Black.

Historical Significance

The Italian Game is one of the oldest recorded chess openings—its name “Giuoco Piano” (Italian for “quiet game”) dates back to the 16th-century masters Gioachino Greco and Giulio Cesare Polerio. Despite its age, the C50 branch remained effectively “harmless” in grandmaster praxis for much of the 20th century; the fashion favored sharper Spanish and Sicilian battlegrounds. However, from roughly 2015 onward, the world elite (Carlsen, Caruana, Ding, Nepomniachtchi) revived the “slow Italian” as a practical weapon to avoid heavy computer preparation in the Ruy Lopez.

[[Chart|Rating|Classical|2000-2024]]

Illustrative Game

Below is a modern masterclass in the C50 “slow Italian” structure:

Anand – Carlsen, Stavanger 2016. Both players sidestep forcing variations, instead probing small positional edges. The game showcases typical C50 motifs: restrained centers, piece re-routing, and long-term tension.

Interesting Facts & Anecdotes

“C50” as a nickname. Some tournament annotators jokingly call a quiet Italian “the C-fifty snoozer” because the engines initially return 0.00 for dozens of moves—until suddenly the position explodes.
Composer’s Paradise. Because of its symmetrical nature, many endgame-study composers set their problems in C50 structures; the starting pieces are well placed yet non-forcing, allowing artistic maneuver play.
Evans Gambit Hollywood Moment. In the 1920s film “Chess Fever,” the hero wins his beloved’s heart with the swashbuckling 4.b4!?, a line still listed under C50 in the earliest ECO pamphlets.