Open · a plan for White
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense
6/6
1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bc4Nf6
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense32.7M games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
13%4.2M53%
0.5%155k52%
0.3%96k47%
0.1%42k48%
0.1%31k48%
Famous games in this line21k master games
Kramnik, Vladimir (2812) – Carlsen, M. (2855)Kramnik, V. (2808) – Carlsen, M. (2832)Nepomniachtchi, I. (2782) – Carlsen, M. (2855)Giri, A. (2782) – Carlsen, M. (2855)Caruana, F. (2805) – Carlsen, M. (2830)Carlsen, M. (2833) – Nakamura, Hi (2802)Carlsen, M. (2833) – Erigaisi, Arjun (2801)So, W.. (2770) – Carlsen, M.. (2862)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, M..
- Family
- Italian Game
- Category
- Open
- First move
- 1.e4
- ECO
- C55
- Line
- 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6
Classical
★ Read the guide: Italian GameExplore all 184 Italian Game lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Four Knights Game: Italian Variation4.Nc3 · 1 deeper lineItalian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack4.Ng5 · 29 deeper linesItalian Game: Two Knights Defense, Open Variation4.d4 · 13 deeper linesItalian Game: Two Knights Defense, Modern Bishop's Opening4.d3 · 1 deeper line
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