Giuoco Pianissimo, Lucchini Gambit

The Lucchini Gambit, named after the Italian player Marco Lucchini, is Black's sharpest answer to the Giuoco Pianissimo. Instead of developing the king's knight, Black strikes at e4 with 4...f5, breaking the symmetry in the style of the King's Gambit. If White accepts with 5. exf5, Black follows with 5...d5 to open the center while White is still developing, and after 6. Bb5 the reply 6...Ne7 prepares to recover the pawn with ...Bxf5 and keeps queenside castling available. The most common replies decline the pawn: 5. O-O and 5. Nc3, after which Black builds up with ...Nf6, ...d6 and ...Qe7 and aims for an attack on the kingside.

The second most common choice, 5. Ng5, leads to wild tactics in which Black may give up material for open lines. After 5. Ng5 f4 the game enters the Dubois Variation, and in practice Black scores heavily after the knight jump. The engine gives White a clear advantage and favors quiet development with Nc3, O-O or Bg5, so the gambit is not considered fully sound. In online play, however, the results are close to even, since many opponents who expect a slow maneuvering game are unprepared for it.