Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Rosentreter Variation

17/17
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Nf64.O-OBc55.d4Bxd46.Nxd4Nxd47.Bg5h68.Bh4g59.f4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Giuoco Piano, Rosentreter Variation27k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
30%8.0k32%
23%6.1k9%
13%3.5k29%
11%3.0k30%
9.8%2.6k45%
5.7%1.5k15%
2.2%57831%
1.7%44833%
1.5%39612%
0.6%17123%
Famous games in this line10 master games
Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian (2558) – Bachmann, Ax (2629)20191–0Chizhikov, V. (2305) – Michalik, P. (2557)20171–0Janik, Igor (2515) – Avramidou, Anastasia (2298)20241–0Nihal, Sarin (2471) – Vrana, J. (2307)20171–0Rahls, Peter (2260) – Volke, Karsten (2472)20070–1Lopez Silva, H. (2414) – Abarca Gonzalez, N. (2267)20141–0Lopez Silva, Hugo Andres (2353) – Rodi, Luis Ernesto (2243)20041–0Nabelek, M. (2270) – Olsarova, T. (2297)2014½–½
Heroes of this opening Lopez Silva, Hugo Andres · Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian · Chizhikov, V. · Janik, Igor
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 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. f4
Classical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →
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Nearby lines in the family
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Morphy Attack3…Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 …Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Paoli Variation4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5 c6 …Italian Game: Evans Gambit Declined, Hicken Variation3…Bc5 4.b4 Bb6 5.b5 Na5 6.Nxe5 …
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 ↗