Italian Game

Chess diagram|=
tright|
=
rd| |bd|qd|kd|bd|nd|rd|=
pd|pd|pd|pd| |pd|pd|pd|=
| |nd| | | | | |=
| | | |pd| | | |=
| |bl| |pl| | | |=
| | | | |nl| | |=
pl|pl|pl|pl| |pl|pl|pl|=
rl|nl|bl|ql|kl| | |rl|=
The starting position of the Italian Game

The Italian Game is a family of chess openings, beginning:

:1. :2. :3.

The Italian Game is one of the oldest recorded chess opening; It occurs in the Göttingen manuscript and was developed by players such as Damiano and
Polerio in the 16th century, and later by Greco in 1620, who gave the game its main line. It has been extensively analyzed for more than 300 years.The term Italian Game is now used interchangeably with Giuoco Piano, though that term also refers particularly to play after 3…Bc5. It is regarded as an Open Game, or Double King's Pawn game.

The game defining move is the White king's bishop's move to c4 (the so-called "Italian bishop") in preparation for an early attack on Blacks vulnerable f7 square.As such the game is typified by aggressive play, where Black's best chances are often vigorous counter-attacks.Because of the large body of theory to be mastered, with little scope for novelty, and the risks involved in the tactical nature of the play, most tournament players when confronted with 3.Bc4prefer to opt for a solid, if drawish defence such as 3…Be7, or, in the past, 3...d6.However the Italian Game is still popular in correspondence chess, where both players have access to theory, and in amateur games which has the challenge of working it out across the board(though this has been likened to setting out into the open sea without rudder or sails [Estrin p. 59.] ).

Variations

The main variations are:

*3…Bc5::Until the 19th century the main line of the Italian Game. Dubbed the Giuoco Piano ("Quiet Game") in contra-distinction to the more aggressive lines then being developed, this continues 4.d3, the positional Giuoco Pianissimo ("Very Quiet Game"), or the main line 4.c3 (the original Giuoco Piano) leading to positions first analyzed by Greco in the 17th Century, and re-vitalized at the turn of the 20th by the Moller Attack.::This variation also contains the aggressive Evans Gambit (4.b4), and the Jerome Gambit (4.Bxf7+), both 19th Century attempts to open up the game.

*3…Nf6::Leading to the more aggressive Two Knights Defense; again, this is more in the nature of a counter-attack, and some (eg Chigorin) have proposed it be re-named so. The Two Knights Defence contains the knife-edged Traxler/Wilkes-Barre Variation, the aggressive Fegatello (or Fried Liver) Attack, and the complex Max Lange Attack.

*3…Be7::Leading to the Hungarian Defence, a solid, drawish game which is often chosen in tournament play to avoid the complexities and risks of the other lines.

*3…d6::The Paris Defence, another solid positional line; this was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but hardly seen now.

See also

* Italian Gambit
* Chess Opening
* List of chess openings
* Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

Notes

References

* T. Harding and G. S. Botterill: "The Italian Game" (1977), Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-3261-6
* V. Zagororovsky: "Romantic Chess Openings" (1982) ISBN 0-7134-3623-9
* D. Bronstein: "200 Open Games" (1973) ISBN (none)
* Y. Estrin: "The Two Knights Defence" (1983) ISBN 0-7134-3991-2
* D. Levy, K. O'Donnell: " Oxford Encyclopaedia of Chess Games Vol I (1485-1866)" (1981) ISBN 0-19-217571-8
* A. Matanović: "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings" Vol C ( 1981) ISBN 0-7134-2697-7

Further reading

*Citation
last=Colins|first=Sam
year=2005
title=Understanding the Chess Openings
publisher = Gambit Publications
ID=ISBN 1-904600-28-X

External links

* [http://www.smashhatter.com/chess/italian/italian.html The Italian Game for Beginners]