Italian Game

The first moves

The position after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 is a choice for Black. The most natural reply is 3...Bc5, the Giuoco Piano or quiet game. Black mirrors White, and both sides get ready to castle. The other main reply is 3...Nf6, the Two Knights Defense, which invites the sharp 4.Ng5 and the Fried Liver Attack.

White's most common plan is the slow one. White plays c3 to prepare d4, d3 to support e4, and castles. The slow setup is called the Giuoco Pianissimo, which means the very quiet game, and it suits players who want a long maneuvering middlegame.

The sharp alternative

White can also play d4 at once. After 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ Black checks, and the fight is about the center. White plays Nc3, Black takes the e4 pawn and White gives up a pawn for development and open lines.

The Moller leads to forcing play, and it is rich in theory. For a club player the point is not to memorize the line but to see why it works. White has a lead in development and a rook on the open file against a king still in the center. If Black has castled and answered accurately, the position is balanced.

How the Italian scores

The table is computed from the public Lichess database and covers all the lines of the Italian Game family. It is rated games between players of similar strength.

The table sums 81,584 rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on Lichess played on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points of each other, banded by the lower rating. White scored 52.0% (plus or minus 0.3 points) overall. A score counts a win as 1 and a draw as one half. One day of games is a sample, so read small gaps between bands as noise.

White scores 53.1 percent under 1200 and 50.5 percent from 2000 up. The edge shrinks as the rating rises, which is exactly what we expect from an opening with an old, well-known answer for Black. At the beginner level, where the attack on f7 is a real threat, White does best.

Plans for White and Black

White's plan in the slow Italian is a pawn center, a safe king and a knight maneuver from d2 or f3 toward g3 and f5. The standard move h3 stops ...Bg4 and prepares a quiet pawn advance with d4. White can also open the position with a4, which stops ...b5 and prepares a pawn storm.

Black's plan is symmetrical. Get the king to safety, push ...d5 when it is supported, and use the bishop on c5 or a7 to restrain d4. A Black player who does not hurry the center break will often find that White's own pieces get in the way.

A trap to know

Legal's mate is a short trap that fools players at every level. It starts with a pin and a sacrifice of the queen, and the final blow is a knight on d5, which gives check and covers f6 while the bishop on f7 and the knight on e5 cover e6, e8 and d7. The moves are 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Bg4 4. Nc3 g6 5. Nxe5 Bxd1 6. Bxf7+ Ke7 7. Nd5# and the result is checkmate.

The reason it works is that Black's king is boxed in by its own pieces. After the bishop takes on f7 with check, the king's only move is to e7, and the knight on d5 gives mate because the bishop on f7 covers e8 and e6, the knight on e5 covers d7 and the black pieces fill the other squares. Learn the pattern and it will come up for the rest of your chess life.

The Evans Gambit

If you want an attacking version of the Italian, the Evans Gambit is the classic. White plays 4.b4, offering a pawn to gain time. If Black takes with the bishop, White plays c3 to attack it and follows with d4, building a huge center while Black's pieces are still at home.

The gambit teaches a principle that applies in every opening: a pawn is worth less than three tempi when the opponent's king is still in the center. Black can decline with 4...Bb6 and keep the pawn structure healthy, and many players do exactly that. Whichever side you play, learn what White is paying and what Black is getting. The same question, who is ahead in development and who has the open lines, is the question to ask in every gambit you meet.

Three typical mistakes

1. Playing d4 too soon. White opens the center before castling and then Black takes the e4 pawn and gets the king's position in trouble. The Italian rewards patience: castle first, then decide.
2. Moving the bishop twice for no reason. Both players retreat the c4 or c5 bishop to b3 or b6 early. That is fine when it is a plan, and a loss of time when it is a habit. Move it only when it is attacked or when it improves the position.
3. Missing the sacrifice on f7. Both bishops aim at f7 and f2. Look at that square every move before you play a developing move that leaves it undefended.

Two model games

Both games reach the Giuoco Piano with 3...Bc5 and the slow plan with d3 and c3, the setup this page calls the slow Italian. Both are real games from public events, published on Lichess broadcasts.

Lichess names the opening the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, and the game began 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6. The first move that Lichess's computer analysis marks as a mistake is Black's 40...Kb8, where it prefers Qf4. White won in 52 moves.

Lichess names the opening the Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo, and the game began 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6. The first move that Lichess's computer analysis marks as a mistake is Black's 21...Qg5+, where it prefers Re5. White won in 32 moves.

How to study the Italian

Pick the slow setup and play it for fifty games. Learn the plan: c3, d3, castling, Re1, a4 and Nbd2. After each game, mark the moment where you wanted to open the center and check whether it was safe. When you are ready, add the sharp d4 break and the Evans Gambit, 4.b4, which sacrifices a pawn for rapid development. A coach can show you which one fits how you play. The packages below show how a lesson is organized.