Openings · C50–C54

Italian Game

The oldest opening in the book: the bishop comes to c4 and looks straight at f7.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4played as White

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play White; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

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Your move 1 of 30/3
  1. 1.e4e5
  2. 2.Nf3Nc6
  3. 3.Bc4

Your move. Drag a piece, or tap it and then its square.

The idea

f7 is the one square in the starting position that only the king defends, and 3.Bc4 points at it from move three. That is the whole of the opening's reputation, and almost none of its modern practice.

What strong players actually play is slow: d3, c3, a knight from b1 to d2 to f1 to g3, and the d4 break saved until it is properly prepared. The older Giuoco Piano plays c3 and d4 at once and leads to sharper, more forcing chess. Both are the Italian; the difference is whether the centre is opened before or after the pieces are ready.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Blocking the check with the knight

After 7…Nxe4
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
The mistake
Meeting the check on b4 with 7.Nc3, as though it were a developing move that happens to block.
Why it costs
It is not a developing move, it is a gambit. 7…Nxe4 takes the pawn and hits the knight, and the compensation only exists for someone who already knows 8.O-O Bxc3 9.d5 — the Greco Attack. The engine rates the position about level, so it is not a lost pawn; it is a pawn that has to be paid for with accurate play, which is exactly what someone who reached it by accident does not have.
Instead
7.Bd2, which blocks and defends at the same time, and leaves an ordinary position where White is a little more comfortable.

The Blackburne Shilling Gambit

After 4…Qg5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
The mistake
Taking the free pawn on e5 after Black's odd-looking 3…Nd4.
Why it costs
4…Qg5 forks the knight on e5 and the g2 pawn. The line that catches people is 5.Nxf7 Qxg2 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3 mate — White is mated on move seven, having won two pawns.
Instead
4.Nxd4 exd4 5.O-O, or 4.c3 straight away. Black has moved the same knight twice for nothing and White is simply better.

Expecting the Fried Liver

After 5…Na5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
The mistake
Playing 4.Ng5 in the belief that it wins a pawn or forces the Fried Liver.
Why it costs
The Fried Liver only happens if Black recaptures with 5…Nxd5. Against 5…Na5 the bishop is hit at once, Black gives the pawn back for fast development, and White has to know the follow-up rather than hope for it.
Instead
Play 4.Ng5 by all means, but with 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 already decided on — a pawn up, awkward to hold, and a long game.

In real games between beginners

  • 1 in 23games end with White giving checkmate by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 33.
  • 1 in 36games end with White getting checkmated by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 54.

From 27,035 Lichess games in this opening between players rated under 1200, blitz and slower, September 2026. How we counted.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, these are Black's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing Black's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 4 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. Nf6+0.2
  2. Bc5+0.2
  3. Be7+0.5
  4. d6+0.5
  5. a5+0.6
  6. h6+0.6

The engine's main line from Nf6: Nf6 d3 Bc5 c3 d6 b4 Bb6 a4.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

Where it fits

The lines out of it with pages of their own: Italian Game, Giuoco Piano and Two Knights Defence.

Analyse a game you played in itAll openings