C57 · Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit
8/8
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Nf64.Ng5Nxe4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ponziani-Steinitz Gambit431k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
44%190k57%
33%144k33%
21%91k43%
0.8%3.6k15%
0.4%1.8k23%
0.1%49928%
0.1%22231%
0%11029%
0%8818%
0%4430%
Famous games in this line1 master games
Kuegel, T. (2419) – Albert, Markus (2247)- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C57
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Nxe4
GambitClassical
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From the archives
The Italian Game is in the Göttingen manuscript and Polerio's notebooks — chess players have been putting the bishop on c4 for more than four centuries. It fell out of top-level fashion for decades, then returned as a main weapon of Carlsen and Caruana, proving the oldest plans still bite.
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