Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit

11/11
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Bc54.c3Nf65.d4exd46.O-O
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit288k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
47%136k39%
24%68k41%
12%33k54%
6.2%18k49%
4.6%13k50%
4.4%13k46%
0.7%1.9k35%
0.6%1.6k16%
0.4%1.0k43%
0.2%54133%
Famous games in this line134 master games
Petrosian, Tigran L (2539) – Grischuk, Alexander (2719)2004½–½Karjakin, Sergey (2489) – Smirin, Ilia (2685)20020–1Karjakin, Sergey (2527) – Nielsen, Peter Heine (2620)20020–1Vykouk, Jan (2435) – Navara, D. (2707)20190–1Babujian, Levon (2386) – Sargissian, Gabriel (2630)20050–1Ozgibcev, A. (2376) – Shirov, A. (2630)20170–1Okhotnik, Vladimir (2445) – Anand, Viswanathan (2555)1988½–½Axelrod, Arie (2403) – Golod, Vitali (2592)20110–1
Heroes of this opening Smirin, Ilia · Nielsen, Peter Heine · Navara, D. · Sargissian, Gabriel
Family
Italian Game
Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C56
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O
GambitClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →
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Nearby lines in the family
Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Slow Variation4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.O-OItalian Game: Scotch Gambit, Nakhmanson Gambit3…Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Nc3Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Lolli Attack3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.d4
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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