Italian GameC50

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4. White's bishop jumps to c4 and looks straight at f7, the weakest square next to Black's king, because only the king guards it.

Move by move

3. Bc4: bishop to c 4

White: e4, pawn to e 4.
Black: e5, pawn to e 5.
White: Nf3, knight to f 3.
Black: Nc6, knight to c 6.
White: Bc4, bishop to c 4.

What each side wants

⚪ White: Get the knights and bishops out fast, castle, then push pawns to the middle with c3 and d4.

⚫ Black: Bring your pieces out too, keep an eye on f7, and castle before White's attack gets going.

White made the last move, so after this it is Black's turn.

You will also hear it called the Italian.

⚠️ Don't grab the pawn

3... Nd4 4. Nxe5 Qg5 5. Nxf7 Qxg2 6. Rf1 Qxe4+ 7. Be2 Nf3#

Black can set a trap with 3...Nd4. If White takes the e5 pawn with 4.Nxe5, the black queen jumps to g5 and attacks two things at once, and a few moves later it is checkmate. The safe answer to 3...Nd4 is 4.Nxd4.

That last move is checkmate.

Three things every opening does

The Italian Game follows the three ideas strong players use in every opening. Get a pawn or two into the middle of the board, because pieces in the middle can reach more squares. Bring out your knights and bishops before you move the queen a lot, so she is not chased around. And castle early, so your king is tucked behind a wall of pawns and your rook joins the game. When you forget the moves, those three ideas will still help you find a good one.

Try it

Play it against Peabody on Play, then solve today's puzzle. Openings that start the same way:

Name, code and moves from the Lichess openings list (CC0), checked 31 October 2026. The words are Peabody's own, and every move on this page is checked by Peabody's chess engine.