I often find the Italian game creates quite slow games which isn't really my style of chess. Because of that I started playing the Rousseau gambit which I do enjoy playing and certainly makes it more interesting, however if white does know how to play against it they end up with a decent advantage. Therefor I was wondering if anyone has any other exciting, tactical or aggressive openings against the Italian that they recommend?
I don't know any but then again I don't play the Italian...
You can try 2 Knights and see if your opponent plays Ng5, but it will still be slow game if he/she chooses to play d3 instead.
Is there any reason you must play e5 vs e4, instead of something like c5?
Is there any reason you must play e5 vs e4, instead of something like c5?
@negative_infinity said in #3:
> You can try 2 Knights and see if your opponent plays Ng5, but it will still be slow game if he/she chooses to play d3 instead.
> Is there any reason you must play e5 vs e4, instead of something like c5?
Hrmm that is an interesting point, I actually hadn't considered playing something else! Just avoid going into to an Italian altogether. I always thought the Sicilian looked complex and hard to learn when I was beginner, but now I'm not a beginner it could be a good idea. Any other ideas just against E4 in general then? I enjoy gambits and stuff as well :). Thanks mate, both helpful suggestions, n your right actually, 2 knights is fun if they play Ng5 :).
> You can try 2 Knights and see if your opponent plays Ng5, but it will still be slow game if he/she chooses to play d3 instead.
> Is there any reason you must play e5 vs e4, instead of something like c5?
Hrmm that is an interesting point, I actually hadn't considered playing something else! Just avoid going into to an Italian altogether. I always thought the Sicilian looked complex and hard to learn when I was beginner, but now I'm not a beginner it could be a good idea. Any other ideas just against E4 in general then? I enjoy gambits and stuff as well :). Thanks mate, both helpful suggestions, n your right actually, 2 knights is fun if they play Ng5 :).
Try Traxler.
"... [After 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 Ng5 Bc5,] 5 Bxf7+! is almost universally accepted as the best way to play for White, and it's the reason the Traxler is hardly ever seen in games between grandmasters. ... It's certainly fun to study and try out as Black, but as a regular choice it's not recommended. ..." - GM John Emms (2018)
Rousseau Gambit (e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bc4 f5!?)
Although @negative_infinity does raise a good point, I used to be in your situation, but I got Anish's Sweet and Short in the Najdorf, watched some videos on it and played c5 instead of e5
The machine evaluates 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 f5 4 d4 as approximately .5 in favor of White.
“... one simply cannot play the [Najdorf Sicilian] safely without studying the complications and remembering a lot of concrete variations. If you are averse to doing this, or you have a poor memory, you are better off avoiding such lines." - FM Steve Giddins (2003)
This topic has been archived and can no longer be replied to.