1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 *
The Italian Game is a Chess opening played with the White pieces.
The Italian Game is a popular opening that you’ll see quite frequently in all levels of the game. Especially for beginner players, as well as the Scotch Game. It follows the opening principles well and is another good opening to play as a beginner. Both sides try to gain control over the center with e and d pawns as well as Bishops and Knight.
When you play this opening, you’ll notice that Black will play moves that bring symmetry to the board which some say that this makes the opening boring to play.
Main Line
The goal of White putting the Bishop on c4 is to aim in directly at the weak f7 square and try to make an attack on the King before castling. However, in the majority of games, both sides will be able to castle before being able to launch a meaningful attack.
As the middle opens up, usually with Black busting open the middle with d5 or something similar, moving the Rooks to the central files as they open up can result in an advantageous position as we get closer to the endgame.
Example
I hope this tutorial on the Italian Game helped you. If you like tutorials on Chess openings like this, you may also want to read on how to play the London System and the Ruy Lopez openings.
