Chess Stack Exchange
Chess Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [italian-game]

A chess game that opens with `1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4`. It is among the oldest of openings.

The Italian Game is the opening beginning with the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4. It is among the oldest of openings.

31 questions
13
votes
1 answer

How should I defend against this sacrifice in the Two Knights Defense?

I often get to play this opening : [fen ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. Nc3 Bg4 (5... Be7 6. Be3 Bg4) (4... Bc5 5. Nc3 d6 6. O-O Bg4) Sometimes there may be other moves or developments before the pin, like in the variations. In any…
Teofrostus
  • 682
  • 3
  • 10
13
votes
4 answers

In Nakamura v. Friedel in 2009, (22. Bc1) why did Friedel resign?

After White's 22. Bc1, it seems like responding with Rd2 would keep the game alive for Black. I assume Friedel's a more insightful player than I am. What am I missing? That is, from an experienced player's viewpoint, why do we assume that staying…
TwoMice
  • 233
  • 1
  • 6
13
votes
3 answers

What's the point of early a2-a4 in the Modern Italian?

It seems that just every top GM is now playing the modern interpretation of the Italian Game (with c3 and d3) with an early a2 to a4 Pawn move, something that only a few years back was considered a waste of time in the best of cases. The first…
A. N. Other
  • 6,816
  • 2
  • 28
  • 66
11
votes
2 answers

Is the Ulvestad variation playable for black?

The Ulvestad variation starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5 Now white's best is 6.Bf1 Nd4 7.c3 leading to this position: [FEN ""] [StartPly "13"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5 6.Bf1 Nd4…
Andrew
  • 15,186
  • 4
  • 65
  • 105
11
votes
4 answers

Why is it funny to say Giri played the Evans Gambit?

At 0:55 in this video, Youtuber agadmator claims Anish Giri played the Evans Gambit in the Italian Game: [fen ""] [Black "Anish Giri"] [White "Kirill Alekseenko"] [Event "Candidates 2020 (Joke Line)"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 It…
Akshat Mahajan
  • 251
  • 2
  • 6
9
votes
2 answers

Is the Spanish opening better than the Italian opening (for white)?

I am currently playing the Italian opening with the white pieces. [FEN ""] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 I have been training with a higher rating player, who suggests to switch to the Spanish opening(Ruy Lopez). [FEN ""] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 I would…
dreamcrash
  • 1,204
  • 1
  • 12
  • 24
9
votes
3 answers

In the Giuoco Piano, why is 4.0-0 currently so popular at top level?

[FEN ""] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O In recent years, the move 4.O-O has taken over from 4.d3 almost entirely -- in my database of TWIC games, if I look at 2750+ games from the last year, I see 4.0-0 70 times and 4.d3 only 5 times. They…
RemcoGerlich
  • 27,663
  • 78
  • 120
8
votes
2 answers

Counter to ...Be6 in the Italian Game?

I have been exploring the Italian Game (especially 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3) for a while, and at several points in the opening, I have seen Black play his bishop to e6 to directly counter the White light squared bishop. The move continues to…
rougon
  • 676
  • 3
  • 8
8
votes
2 answers

Why don't masters prevent the pin after Bg4 in the modern Italian game?

In the Italian game, according to the Lichess masters database, the play usually starts similarly to [FEN ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. Bb3 However, this completely ignores the threat of Bg4, that can be…
marmistrz
  • 253
  • 1
  • 5
7
votes
1 answer

Why is the immediate ...d5 in the 4. d3 Italian not played?

The line may seem suspicious at first, but after a few precise moves (some may say artificial moves) by Black an interesting middlegame position is reached. I did some analysis on my own and probably the strongest line for White is the early Bb5…
B.Swan
  • 3,469
  • 1
  • 14
  • 25
7
votes
3 answers

Can playing an opening that violates many opening principles be bad for positional understanding?

As the title says, and I have a concrete example in mind, g5 attack against the Italian: [FEN ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 g5 Which can go like this: [FEN ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 g5…
Akavall
  • 6,536
  • 2
  • 28
  • 46
6
votes
2 answers

Is Nxd5 playable in the Italian Game: Two Knights Defense?

The following move is considered dubvious in lichess.org opennings explorer because of the sacrifice in f7: [FEN "r1bqkb1r/ppp2ppp/2n2n2/3Pp1N1/2B5/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 5"] 1... Nxd5 2. Nxf7 Kxf7 3. Qf3+ Ke6 4. Nc3 Ncb4 The following…
user27142
6
votes
1 answer

Options for breaking the Giuoco Pianissimo wide open?

I don't like the Giuoco Pianissimo [FEN ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 because I find it very slow and boring. The cramped center and overall board make me want to just resign, so as black how can I avoid the Giuoco Pianissimo as black…
xaisoft
  • 16,845
  • 10
  • 71
  • 140
5
votes
1 answer

Resources on Italian Game, Two Knights Defense with 4. d3 h6 and quick ...g5

Do any books or other resources discuss this variation for Black? Does it have a name? The general idea is to go 4...h6, then ...d6 and ...g5 in some order, depending on what White does. S. Mamedyarov plays this line a lot. Sample line: [FEN ""] …
B.Swan
  • 3,469
  • 1
  • 14
  • 25
5
votes
3 answers

Why is White's accuracy 99.7% instead of 100.0%?

Here is a short game played online at chess.com. [FEN ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 5. d4 Bb6 6. dxe5 Black resigned for some unknown reason; maybe a mouse slip or he/she needs to leave. When the game was analysed at chess.com, the…
Zuriel
  • 8,749
  • 6
  • 39
  • 93
1
2 3