Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Sokolsky Variation

13/13
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.b4Bxb45.c3Ba56.d4d67.Bg5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Sokolsky Variation292 games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
43%12651%
34%9946%
14%4252%
8.2%2458%
0.3%1100%
Family
Italian Game
Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C52
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 d6 7. Bg5
GambitClassical
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Nearby lines in the family
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Greco's Attack4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4 …Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Cracow Variation4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4 …Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Canal Variation3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 …
From the archives

The Italian Game appears in the Göttingen manuscript (c. 1500) and in Polerio's notebooks — chess players have been putting the bishop on c4 for more than five hundred years. It fell out of top-level fashion for decades, then came back as White players went looking for a way round the Berlin Defence; Carlsen used the quiet Giuoco Pianissimo in the 2016 world-championship match.

Study this opening
Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: Italian Game ↗