The Italian Game is one of the oldest open games: Polerio and Greco were analysing it back in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 White develops quickly and aims the bishop at f7. All the main branches are gathered here: the Giuoco Piano and Pianissimo, the Evans Gambit, the Two Knights with the Fried Liver Attack, and the Hungarian Defence. At each branching point, choose which line to play.
The dimmed moves are the rest of the main line, and the dots mark branching points. Click any move to jump to that position.
The thin arrow on the board shows the next move.
You can also play the move on the board: pick the piece up and put it on the square.
The starting position. Choose your moves - at a branching point several continuations are available.
The Italian Game has been known since the sixteenth century - the Italian masters Polerio and Greco analysed it. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 White develops the minor pieces and aims the bishop straight at f7, the weakest point in Black's camp, defended in the opening by the king alone.
The main strategic idea is fast development and the fight for the centre with d2-d4. Unlike the closed openings, the pieces come into play at once, so the game often takes on an open, tactical character.
White has two routes. He can accumulate a positional edge slowly in the d3 systems, or open the centre and attack at once - via c3 and d4, or with the pawn sacrifice of the Evans Gambit. The choice on move four sets the character of the whole game.
The weakness of f7 runs through the whole opening. In the Two Knights (3...Nf6) White can play 4.Ng5, attacking f7 directly, and against inaccurate defence sacrifice the knight in the famous Fried Liver Attack.
So Black has to be accurate as early as moves three and four. The most reliable answers are the symmetrical 3...Bc5 and the solid 3...Be7, while 3...Nf6 leads to the sharpest, most forcing play.
The bishop on c4 already eyes f7, so White's whole plan is built around the centre and that square. The classical route is the Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 with the idea of d2-d4. After 4...Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 White has the e4+d4 pawn duo and open lines for the pieces - worth the e4 pawn in some lines.
The second route is the quietest Italian, 4.d3. White is in no hurry: castling, c3, Nbd2-f1-g3, the rook to e1, and a4 against ...b5 when it comes. The d3 pawn holds the centre while the pieces regroup slowly for a kingside attack. This plan is more popular today: it offers a long game with no forcing theory.
What to avoid: an early, unnecessary exchange on d4, and greed after 4.Ng5 - the blow on f7 only works when Black replies inaccurately.
Black's main task is to play ...d5 in time or to shore things up with ...d6. While the pawn sits on d7, the c4 bishop and the f3 knight press on f7 and any tactics around that square are dangerous. After 3...Bc5 4.c3 the logical move is 4...Nf6, and against 5.d4 take with 5...exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ - the check gains a tempo and stops White from completing development in peace.
Against the quietest system with 4.d3 Black has a standard formation: ...Nf6, ...d6, ...0-0, ...a6 and ...Ba7, tucking the bishop away from a future b2-b4. Then the knight travels ...Ne7-g6 and the play shifts to the kingside. It matters not to delay ...a6: without it White gains a tempo with b4.
Remember 4.Ng5 in particular: after 4...d5 5.exd5, 5...Nxd5?! fails to 6.Nxf7! with a rout. The correct move is 5...Na5, giving the pawn back for development.
The typical set-ups this opening leads to - learn them, and the plan follows by itself.
After 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3. White has the strong e4+d4 pawn duo and the initiative; Black presses on the centre and prepares ...d5.
After 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+. For the knight White has a crushing attack on the king stuck in the centre - which is why 5...Na5 is correct.
After 4.d3 Nf6 5.0-0 0-0 6.c3 d6. A closed manoeuvring structure: White regroups (Nbd2-f1-g3) and prepares to advance without hurrying.
These are the main named variations. Click any one of them and it loads straight onto the board above, where you can play it out move by move. The trainer itself holds more lines than this: it also covers main-line continuations and transpositions that have no name of their own.
What to avoid, and what catches an unprepared opponent.
After 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5, 5...Nxd5?! does not work - 6.Nxf7! Kxf7 7.Qf3+ follows with a crushing attack. The correct move is 5...Na5, giving up a pawn for development.
If you accept the Evans Gambit, do not cling to the extra pawn: give it back in good time and finish developing, or White's initiative with the c3-d4 centre and the attack on f7 becomes unstoppable.
Do not rush ...exd4 until you have to: a premature exchange hands White a comfortable centre and tempi. Finish developing first.
Traps in other openings - the 12 most common opening traps.
For both. The c3-d4 systems and the Evans Gambit lead to a sharp attack, while the quietest system with d3 leads to a long manoeuvring game. The opening is flexible and suits any style.
It is the Fegatello Attack: after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! 6.Nxf7! White sacrifices a knight and gets a very strong attack on the king stuck in the centre. That is why 5...Na5 is played instead of 5...Nxd5.
In both White plays 2.Nf3 and develops the bishop, but in the Italian it goes to c4 (straight at f7) and in the Ruy Lopez to b5 (pressing the c6 knight). The Italian is simpler and more tactical, the Ruy Lopez more positional and more complex.
Yes, it is one of the best openings for beginners: clear plans (develop, castle, strike with d4), quick piece deployment, and rich tactics around f7 that are ideal for learning to calculate.
Want the tactics that decide these positions? Start with the 12 most common opening traps and tactics for beginners. If you are just starting out, read the rules of chess and how to set up the board.
В приложении нет ролей «клуб» и «судья»: кнопка создания события доступна каждому. Турнир можно объявить сегодня, а провести в ближайшие выходные.
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