Italian Game:Evans Gambit

Invented by the Welsh sea captain William Davies Evans around 1827. White gives a pawn to gain time and build a big centre; it was a favourite of the Romantic era.

It is reached after 7 moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4. It is a line of the Italian Game.

Black is to move and has 35 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,330,260 different games. Those games reach 432,419 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3.1 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 50 further lines after this position, such as Evans Gambit Accepted (4... Bxb4) and Evans Gambit Declined (4... Bb6).

The same moves can be played in 36 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. Nf3 e5 2. e4 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4, which starts as the Zukertort Opening.