Open · a plan for White

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Keidansky Variation

18/18
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Nf64.d4exd45.e5d56.Bb5Ne47.Nxd4Bc58.Nxc6Bxf2+9.Kf1Qh4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Keidansky Variation3.3k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
39%1.3k37%
23%74937%
14%46929%
14%45645%
3.3%10951%
2.9%9424%
0.9%307%
0.8%258%
0.5%1822%
0.4%1425%
Famous games in this line1 master games
Aggelis, Nikolaos (2323) – Dounis, Alexandros (2207)2011½–½
Family
Italian Game
Category
Open
First move
1.e4
ECO
C56
Line
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. Nxc6 Bxf2+ 9. Kf1 Qh4
Classical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →
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Nearby lines in the family
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Maróczy Variation4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.d3 h6 …Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Loman Defense3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.O-O Nf6 …Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Fraser Attack3…Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bc5 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
Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: Italian Game ↗