About this opening
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Pavlov Variation is an opening in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings,
classified under code C51. ECO group C (C00–C99)
covers open games (1.e4 e5) and the French Defence, including the Ruy Lopez, Italian, Scotch and King's Gambit. This particular variation is reached
after 23 half-moves from the
starting position, with the move sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Nh6 7. d4 d6 8. Bxh6 dxe5 9. Bxg7 Rg8 10. Bxf7+ Kxf7 11. Bxe5 Qg5 12. Nd2.
It belongs to the Italian Game family.
Within that family this is a level-2 branch (the Evans Gambit Declined → Pavlov Variation line). The immediate parent line is Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, transitioned via 12.Nd2.
The opening sequence in prose form: 1.e4 e5, 2.Nf3 Nc6, 3.Bc4 Bc5, 4.b4 Bb6, 5.b5 Na5, 6.Nxe5 Nh6. From this position the encyclopaedia records no further canonical continuations — practical play branches into unnamed transpositions or returns to the parent line for alternative ideas.
Use the interactive board above to walk through the moves position-by-position. Click any move in the navigation to step backwards, or use the keyboard arrow keys. For statistical data — how often master-level players have reached this position, White's win-rate, draw frequency, Black's score — see the panel in the right column.
Caissly's coverage of C51 extends through every named sub-variation in this line and across all four locales (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian). Where editorial commentary exists for a specific variation it appears as the page body; otherwise the page presents the structural data, board, and statistics as shown here.