Italian Game:Giuoco Pianissimo

Italian for “very quiet game”. With d3 White keeps the centre closed and builds up slowly; it became one of the main lines of top-level chess in the 2010s.

It is reached after 7 moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3. It is a line of the Italian Game.

Black is to move and has 36 legal moves. Over the next four moves — two for each side — the game can branch into 1,608,199 different games. Those games reach 525,638 different positions: most positions can be reached in more than one way, 3.1 on average.

The Lichess opening list names 2 further lines after this position, such as Lucchini Gambit (4... f5).

The same moves can be played in 12 different legal orders that all reach this position. For example 1. Nf3 e5 2. e4 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3, which starts as the Zukertort Opening.