C54 · Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Ghulam-Kassim Variation
17/17
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.c3Nf65.d4exd46.e5Ne47.Bd5Nxf28.Kxf2dxc3+9.Kg3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Classical Variation, Ghulam-Kassim Variation5.1k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
52%2.7k47%
19%97946%
13%68232%
7.5%38339%
2.7%13546%
2.4%12330%
0.9%4830%
0.6%3326%
0.3%1644%
0.3%1429%
Famous games in this line1 master games
Mammadov, Ayaz Arzu (2409) – Abasov, Nijat Azad (2504)- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C54
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 Ne4 7. Bd5 Nxf2 8. Kxf2 dxc3+ 9. Kg3
Classical
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From the archives
The Italian Game is in the Göttingen manuscript and Polerio's notebooks — chess players have been putting the bishop on c4 for more than four centuries. It fell out of top-level fashion for decades, then returned as a main weapon of Carlsen and Caruana, proving the oldest plans still bite.
Study this opening elsewhere