Italian Game

Italian Game
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c6 black knight
e5 black pawn
c4 white bishop
e4 white pawn
f3 white knight
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
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Moves1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
ECOC50–C59
Origin15th or 16th century
ParentKing's Knight Opening

The Italian Game is a family of chess openings beginning with the moves:

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4

This opening is defined by the development of the white bishop to c4 (the so-called "Italian bishop"), where it attacks Black's vulnerable f7-square. It is part of the large family of Open Games or Double King's Pawn Games.

The Italian Game is one of the oldest recorded chess openings; it occurs in the Göttingen manuscript and was developed by players such as Damiano and Polerio in the 16th century, and later by Greco in 1620, who gave the game its main line. It has been extensively analyzed for more than 300 years.

The term Italian Game is sometimes used interchangeably with Giuoco Piano, although the latter also refers particularly to play after 3...Bc5.[1]

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings gives the Italian Game ten codes: C50–C54 for the Giuoco Piano, and C55–C59 for the Two Knights Defense. Side lines are covered under C50.

  1. ^ Harding & Botterill (1977), p. Preface: "In Europe this complex [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4] is known as the Italian Game, but Anglo-Saxon readers may be more familiar with the term Giuoco Piano for the lines where Black replies 3...Bc5."