Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Holzhausen Attack
19/19
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Nf64.O-OBc55.d4Bxd46.Nxd4Nxd47.Bg5d68.f4Qe79.fxe5dxe510.Nc3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Holzhausen Attack5.4k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
43%2.3k60%
29%1.5k64%
18%98862%
5.7%30864%
1.3%7142%
1%5439%
0.5%2836%
0.4%2433%
0.3%1537%
0.2%1327%
Famous games in this line2 master games
Sukandar, Irine Kharisma (2288) – Harika, Dronavalli (2508)Arosemena, Jorge Luis (2201) – Van Hoolandt, Patrick (2231)Heroes of this opening Harika, Dronavalli · Arosemena, Jorge Luis
- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C54
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. d4 Bxd4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Bg5 d6 8. f4 Qe7 9. fxe5 dxe5 10. Nc3
AggressiveClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →Keep exploring
Nearby lines in the family
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.
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