The Italian Game is very popular and one of the oldest openings in chess. White develops the bishop to a good square where it controls a valuable diagonal in the centre and targets Black's f7-pawn. This move also clears the way for early kingside castling. This opening is very easy to study and one of the best choices for beginners. Black has a few responses here, but the most played are 3. Nf6, the Two Knights Defense, which can lead to sharp lines, and 3. Bc5, the Giuoco Piano, which focuses on quiet play and developing pieces, though the Evans Gambit can subvert that.

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h 3...Nf6   (Two Knights)

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h 3...Bc5   (Giuoco Piano)

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h 3...Be7   (Hungarian)

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h 3....d6   (Paris)

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h 3....Nd4   (Blackburne Shilling Gambit)

a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h 3....f5   (Rousseau Gambit)

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4

Estimated next move popularity Nf6 56%, Bc5 38%, Be7 3%, d6 2%, all else less than 1%

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• The Italian Game for Beginners

Wikipedia has related information at Italian Game

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.