Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Loman Defense
18/18
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.d4exd44.Bc4Bc55.O-ONf66.e5d57.exf6dxc48.Re1+Be69.Ng5g6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Loman Defense4.8k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
76%3.7k37%
11%54046%
5.9%28760%
3.9%18752%
1.3%6356%
1%4749%
0.4%1932%
0.2%1020%
0.1%30%
0.1%30%
Famous games in this line3 master games
Sulskis, S. (2525) – Seel, C. (2469)Miralles, Gilles (2450) – Fontaine, Robert (2532)Nogueiras Santiago, Jesus (2200) – Cobo Arteaga, Eldis (2370)Heroes of this opening Seel, C. · Miralles, Gilles · Cobo Arteaga, Eldis
- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C56
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O Nf6 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4 8. Re1+ Be6 9. Ng5 g6
SharpAggressiveClassical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →Keep exploring
Nearby lines in the family
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