Italian Game | Opening Basics and Common Variations

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The Italian Game (often referred to as the Giuoco Piano) is one of the oldest, most popular, most useful and most heavily analyzed openings in all of chess.

In this introductory video, I will try and go through all the main variations which could branch out of the opening, as well as explain the key ideas for both sides – the weak squares, attacking plans and strategical ideas.

The Italian branches out into two main openings – the Giuoco Piano and the Two Knights Defense (3...Bc5 or 3...Nf6). They are completely different and lead to different middlegame positions.

The Bc5 line often results in more solid, positional games (thus the name “Giuoco Piano”, the italian phrase meaning “a slow game). The main line, with white continuing with 4.c3, is one of the most complicated and fun variations to play for white against the king’s pawn. It involves strategical thinking, tactical prowess and positional mastery all in one, and playing it will definitely sharpen your chess senses.

The Nf6 line, on the other hand, leads to some of the most notorious openings in chess, such as the infamous Fried Liver Attack or the Traxler. The main lines, however, albeit not as sharp as the aforementioned variations, still lead to much more exciting games than the ones that evolve out of the Giuoco Piano.

All in all, the Italian is one of the most popular chess openings for a very good reason.

In the following videos in the series I am going to go through each separate variation in depth, covering all the key lines for each. The series is going to be 8 videos long and it will include the following variations:

1. Giuoco Pianissimo
2. Giuoco Piano
3. Two Knights Defense – Knight Attack
4. Two Knights Defense – Modern Bishop Opening
5. Fried Liver Attack
6. Evans Gambit
7. Deutz Gambit
8. Hungarian Defense

#chess #italiangame #giuocopiano