Italian Game

The idea

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, White's bishop points at f7, the one square next to Black's king that only the king defends. Black usually answers with 3...Bc5, the Giuoco Piano, or 3...Nf6, the Two Knights Defense, which hits the pawn on e4 at once.

The modern main plan is calm: c3 to prepare d4, d3 to guard e4, castle, then Re1 and a knight trip from b1 to g3 through d2 and f1. White can also push d4 straight away and open the center when Black does not attack e4. Black wants ...d6, ...a6 or ...h6, and a well-timed ...d5 to free the game.

Two quiet setups face each other and the fight is about small edges: a square here, a tempo there. The pieces come out quickly, so there is little to memorize, and the same plans repeat game after game. The sharper branches, such as the Evans Gambit or the Fried Liver Attack, are there when you want a fight.

Anyone starting out with 1.e4. It teaches the basics in their purest form: develop, castle, take the center and look after f7 and f2. Strong players use the slow version too, so it grows with you.

Guard f2 as carefully as you aim at f7. A Black bishop on c5 and a knight on g4 can gang up on it, so count the attackers before you move a defender away.

The main line, move by move

1. 1.e4 · White claims the center with a pawn and opens the way for the queen and the bishop on f1. It is the most direct way to start a game.
2. 1...e5 · Black answers in kind: an equal share of the center, and the same open lines for the queen and the king's bishop. Both sides now want to develop fast.
3. 2.Nf3 · The knight comes out to its best square and attacks the pawn on e5 at once. Black has to spend a move looking after it.
4. 2...Nc6 · Black defends e5 with a knight, the most natural guard, and develops a piece at the same time.
5. 3.Bc4 · The bishop takes the diagonal that points at the pawn on f7, which only the king defends. This is the Italian Game.
6. 3...Bc5 · Black mirrors the idea: the bishop aims at f2, and from c5 it also makes the push d4 hard to prepare. This is the Giuoco Piano, the quiet game.

Lines to learn: Italian Game

• The quiet Italian
• If 3...Nf6 (Two Knights)
• The center break after 4...d6

Next moves in book

• 3...Nd4 · Blackburne-Kostić Gambit
• 3...d6 · Paris Defense
• 3...f5 · Rousseau Gambit
• 3...Bc5 · Giuoco Piano
• 3...Be7 · Hungarian Defense
• 3...Nf6 · Two Knights Defense
• 3...h6 · Anti-Fried Liver Defense

Watch out for

• Fried Liver Attack
• Jerome Gambit
• The Blackburne Shilling Gambit

A famous game

• The Evergreen Game Berlin (casual), 1852

Related openings

• Ruy Lopez C60–C99 · 200 named lines
• Scotch Game C44–C45 · 48 named lines
• Four Knights Game C47–C50 · 40 named lines
• Petrov's Defense C42–C43 · 43 named lines