The Italian Gambit is a

chess opening The opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established Chess_theory#Opening_theory, theory. The other phases are the chess middlegame, middlegame and the chess endgame, endgame. Many opening sequences, known as ''op ...

that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Bc5 :4. d4 It is often played as an alternative to the quiet and closed lines of the

Giuoco Piano The (; )Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 153. ''Giuoco Piano''. "The name means 'quiet game' and until the 19th century was often applied to any opening that was not a gambit." is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. ...

Giuoco Pianissimo The (; )Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 153. ''Giuoco Piano''. "The name means 'quiet game' and until the 19th century was often applied to any opening that was not a gambit." is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. ...

openings. Black can: * take with the pawn (4...exd4), a transposition to the

Scotch Gambit The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On ...

; * take with the knight (4...Nxd4), which is considered weak since it allows 5.Nxe5, attacking f7 with the bishop and knight; or * take with the bishop (4...Bxd4), which is considered best.

4...Bxd4

After 4...Bxd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4: * 6.0-0, favoured by George Koltanowski, transposes to the related gambit line 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d4 following 6...Nf6, when 7.f4 and 7.Bg5 are the main possibilities for White; however, 6...d6 is an independent alternative for Black. * 6.Be3, dubbed the ''Miami Variation'' by Jude Acers and George Laven, is a way for White to deviate that probably suffices for dynamic . * 6.f4 is considered dubious due to 6...d6.

References

* * {{chess-opening-stub Chess openings he:פתיחה איטלקית zh:意大利開局

4...Bxd4

See also

References