Italian Game
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| Moves | 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | C50–C59 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Origin | 15th or 16th century | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | King's Knight Opening | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonym | Italian Opening | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Italian Game is a chess opening beginning with the moves:
White develops the bishop to the active square c4 (the so-called "Italian bishop"), where it attacks Black's pawn on f7, protected only by the king. Black usually responds with 3...Bc5 (the Giuoco Piano) or 3...Nf6 (the Two Knights Defense).
The Italian is one of the oldest recorded chess openings, being developed by players such as Pedro Damiano and Giulio Polerio in the 16th century and by Gioachino Greco in his game collection published in 1620. It has since been extensively analyzed and is still frequently taught to beginners, but beginning in the late 19th century it has seen a decline in popularity due to the rise of the Ruy Lopez or Spanish Game.