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ECO C50Open game

Italian Game

A quiet game with a hidden threat

  • Open centre
  • Classical

The c4 bishop looks at the weakest square in Black's camp: the f7 pawn. White develops quickly, castles and prepares d4. The name Giuoco Piano means the quiet game: at first everything is calm, but a strike can come at any moment. Today slow systems with d2-d3 are more popular, where precise manoeuvres matter more than attack.

Interactive Opening Board

7.Bb3

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White
7.Bb3
Speed:

Moves

(13 plies • 7 moves)
7.Bb3Tabiya

The bishop retreats in advance, so …b5 gains nothing. A manoeuvring game without hurry begins.

  1. 1–7moves
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Defining move

3.Bc4! — the bishop on f7

The move that makes the game Italian

The bishop takes the a2–g8 diagonal and presses on f7, Black's one weakness at this stage. It asks Black no questions, as the bishop on b5 does, but simply helps development. That is why the Italian Game is regarded as one of the easiest open games to understand.

Tabiya

The Giuoco Pianissimo tabiya

The modern Italian Game. The d3 and c3 pawns give White a reliable centre, and the b3 bishop keeps up the pressure. The game is unhurried: White regroups to prepare d2-d4, Black waits for the blow and guards the structure. The side with the more precise manoeuvres wins.

The centre

A calm centre with moves in hand

White has pawns on c3, d3 and e4, Black on d6 and e5. The centre is closed, but each side keeps a break in reserve: d3-d4 for White, …d5 for Black.

Key squaresf7d4d5

Outposts

  • f7The weakest square

    Until the king castles, f7 is defended only by the king. White keeps the bishop on the diagonal until Black safeguards it.

  • d5The pivot square

    Whoever puts a pawn or knight on d5 gains space and the initiative.

Thematic breaks

  • d4White

    The d3-d4 break

    Open the centre and expose Black's king.

    What follows: After the exchange on d4 White gets an open file, and Black must watch the f7 square.

  • d5Black

    The …d6-d5 strike

    Relieve the pressure on f7 and free the game.

    What follows: If it works, Black equalises and the Italian becomes a quiet game.

White’s plan

  • Finish development calmly: castling, Nbd2, Re1.
  • Prepare d3-d4 and strike at the centre.
  • Keep the bishop on the a2–g8 diagonal and press on f7.

Black’s plan

  • Guard the f7 pawn and keep the e5–d6 chain solid.
  • Prepare the …d5 strike and relieve the pressure.
  • Do not let White trade bishops on good terms.

History

It is one of the oldest openings: it was analysed by the Italians Damiano and Polerio in the sixteenth century and by Greco in the seventeenth. The name Giuoco Piano means the quiet game. In the Romantic era the Evans Gambit was fashionable, and Morphy played it. In the twentieth century the Ruy Lopez nearly pushed the Italian aside, but from the 1980s the quiet system with d2-d3 returned: Karpov played it in his 1981 match, and today Giri and Vachier-Lagrave play it regularly.

Legends who played it

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