Opening Overview

Italian Game

181 lines
white repertoire

About This Opening

White develops naturally and aims for fast piece activity and central tension.

The opening's main value is its characteristic move order, which helps steer the game toward familiar structures and plans.

When studying it, focus on the first forcing decisions, the main branching points, and the kind of middlegames the opening is designed to reach.

Key ideas
  • Typical theme: recognize the key move order early.
  • Learn the first critical branching decisions.
  • Best for players who want a repeatable repertoire line.
  • Understand the resulting pawn structure and piece placement.

Choose a variation

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation
C56 13 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 Ng4 7. c3
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Loman Defense
C56 18 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O Nf6 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. Re1+ Be6 9. Ng5 g6
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Rubinstein Variation
C56 22 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. O-O Bc5 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. Re1+ Be6 9. Ng5 Qd5 10. Nc3 Qf5 11. Nce4 Bf8
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Open Variation
C56 7 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Perreux Variation
C56 9 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Ng5
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Yurdansky Attack
C56 25 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Nc3 Qa5 9. Nxe4 Be6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Nf6+ Ke7 13. b4
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fegatello Attack, Leonhardt Variation
C57 22 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qf3+ Ke6 8. Nc3 Nb4 9. Qe4 c6 10. a3 Na6 11. d4 Nc7
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fried Liver Attack
C57 11 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxf7
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fritz Variation
C57 10 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nd4
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Fritz, Gruber Variation
C57 15 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nd4 6. c3 b5 7. Bf1 Nxd5 8. Ne4
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Kloss Gambit
C57 10 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Nb4
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack
C57 7 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5
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