Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, de Riviere Defense

10/10
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.d4exd44.Bc4Nf65.O-OBe7
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, de Riviere Defense435k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
65%283k55%
22%97k52%
6%26k53%
4.8%21k51%
0.6%2.4k44%
0.4%1.7k46%
0.3%1.4k42%
0.2%1.0k47%
0.1%36045%
0.1%26553%
Famous games in this line47 master games
Sveshnikov, Evgeny (2530) – Abramovic, Bosko (2480)19841–0Roos, Louis (2385) – Djuric, Stefan (2535)1992½–½Pridorozhni, Aleksei (2475) – Bryzgalin, Kirill (2439)20021–0Sveshnikov, Evgeny (2560) – Ceko, Jovan (2280)19971–0Trapl, Jindrich (2395) – Kolev, Atanas (2425)19891–0Nigmatov, Ortik (2440) – Atakishiyev, Elmar (2349)2024½–½Brynell, Stellan (2385) – Moehring, Guenther (2395)19881–0Martin, Andrew D (2375) – Barlov, Dragan (2405)1981½–½
Heroes of this opening Sveshnikov, Evgeny · Pridorozhni, Aleksei · Trapl, Jindrich · Brynell, Stellan
Family
Italian Game
Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C56
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7
GambitClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →
Keep exploring
Nearby lines in the family
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Main Line3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Mayet Defense3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bf8Italian Game: Classical Variation, with d53.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d5
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
Open in the opening tree →Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: Italian Game ↗