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: Evans Gambit Declined, Cordel Variation
C51 9 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. Bb2
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hicken Variation
C51 17 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Qg5 7. Qf3 Qxe5 8. Qxf7+ Kd8 9. Bb2
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hirschbach Variation
C51 12 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Qg5
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Lange Variation
C51 12 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Nh6
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Pavlov Variation
C51 23 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Nh6 7. d4 d6 8. Bxh6 dxe5 9. Bxg7 Rg8 10. Bxf7+ Kxf7 11. Bxe5 Qg5 12. Nd2
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Showalter Variation
C51 11 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. a4 a6 6. Nc3
Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Vasquez Variation
C51 15 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. b5 Na5 6. Nxe5 Qg5 7. Bxf7+ Ke7 8. Qh5
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation
C51 10 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Anderssen Variation, Cordel Line
C51 12 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 6. d4 Na5
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Fontaine Countergambit
C51 8 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 b5
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Fraser Attack
C51 19 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Qa4
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Fraser-Mortimer Attack
C51 25 plies
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Bc5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O d6 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb3 Na5 12. Bxf7+ Kf8 13. Qc2
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