Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Janowski Defense

10/10
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.d4exd44.Bc4Nf65.O-Od6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Janowski Defense457k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
50%230k54%
15%66k49%
14%63k53%
7.4%34k57%
5.7%26k48%
4.8%22k46%
2.4%11k51%
0.2%73549%
0.1%68150%
0.1%64742%
Famous games in this line81 master games
Sulskis, S. (2490) – Vidit, S. (2716)20230–1Heberla, B. (2544) – Bartel, Mat (2662)2014½–½Pijpers, A. (2474) – Nikolic, Pr (2574)20190–1Muzychuk, M. (2559) – Stefanova, A. (2476)2019½–½Hajnal, Zoltan (2349) – Sandipan, Chanda (2628)2013½–½Kadric, D. (2601) – Lalic, B. (2365)2023½–½Inkiov, Ventzislav (2450) – Filip, Miroslav (2485)19781–0Zhang Xiaopeng (2306) – Wen Yang (2618)20150–1
Heroes of this opening Vidit, S. · Nikolic, Pr · Inkiov, Ventzislav · Wen Yang
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 d6
GambitClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →
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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
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