C57 · Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ulvestad Variation
10/10
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Nf64.Ng5d55.exd5b5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Ulvestad Variation523k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
56%291k40%
15%79k45%
14%72k55%
12%63k50%
1.9%10k32%
1%5.2k52%
0.2%85845%
0.1%50345%
0.1%44945%
0%21833%
Famous games in this line242 master games
Gukesh, D. (2764) – Carlsen, M. (2830)Lu Shanglei (2647) – Wang Hao (2698)Naiditsch, Arkadij (2664) – Carlsen, Magnus (2646)Sindarov, Javokhir (2677) – Chigaev, M. (2624)Vallejo Pons, Francisco (2660) – Naiditsch, Arkadij (2639)Morozevich, Alexander (2630) – Piket, Jeroen (2625)Nigmatov, Ortik (2437) – Esipenko, Andrey (2692)Shabalov, Alexander (2565) – Ivanov, Alexander (2560)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, Magnus · Sindarov, Javokhir · Vallejo Pons, Francisco · Piket, Jeroen
- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C57
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 b5
Classical
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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.
Study this opening