ecocodes
Volume C · Open games and the French Defense‹ C55C57 ›
a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8
Reference position · Black to move

C56 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Open Variation

C56 holds 24 named lines, all under the name Italian Game. It leaves C55 (Italian Game: Two Knights Defense) with 4.d4. Material is no longer level at the end of 21 of its lines; the widest gap, four pawns in Black’s favour, comes in Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Anderssen Attack. White’s pieces and pawns attack ten squares in Black’s half, level for the most of the 10 Italian Game codes. Black, to move in that position, has 30 legal moves, the second-lowest count of the 10 Italian Game codes.

Score sheet
#WhiteBlack
1e4e5
2Nf3Nc6
3Bc4Nf6
4d4

Moves only C56 plays

Same as C55 up to 3...Nf6, then:

  1. 4.d4 The d-pawn advances two squares to d4, covering c5 and e5, opening a line for the bishop on c1 and the queen on d1.

Lines filed under C56

All 24 share the start 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 and then split two ways at White’s move 3.

NameAfter the shared startPliesAt the end
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Open Variation3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d47
Italian Game: Scotch Invitation Declined3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 d68
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O9Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Perreux Variation3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Ng59Black +1
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Double Gambit Accepted3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe410Black +2, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Janowski Defense3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O d610Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc510Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, de Riviere Defense3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Be710Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Nakhmanson Gambit3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Nc311Black +2, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Walbrodt-Baird Gambit3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.O-O11Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.e511Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Ne412Black +1
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Spielmann Defense3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5 Ng412Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Canal Variation3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Nc313Black +2, White castled
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Krause Variation3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5 Ng4 7.c313Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Anderssen Attack3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc315Black +4, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack Accepted3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.fxg717White castled
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Keidansky Variation3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Ne4 7.Nxd4 Bc5 8.Nxc6 Bxf2+ 9.Kf1 Qh418White +2
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Loman Defense3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.O-O Nf6 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 g618Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Anderssen Attack, Main Line3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qa5 9.Nxe4 Be6 10.Bd2 Qd5 11.Bg521Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Scotch Gambit, Max Lange Attack, Long Variation3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Nc3 Qf5 11.Nce421Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Rubinstein Variation3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Nc3 Qf5 11.Nce4 Bf822Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Yurdansky Attack3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Re1 d5 7.Bxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qa5 9.Nxe4 Be6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Nf6+ Ke7 13.b425Black +1, White castled
Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack, Berger Variation3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5 d5 7.exf6 dxc4 8.Re1+ Be6 9.Ng5 Qd5 10.Nc3 Qf5 11.g4 Qg6 12.Nce4 Bb6 13.f4 O-O-O26Black +1, both castled

The road to C56

  1. 1.e4 … 2...Nc6four earlier stops: B00, C20, C40, C44
  2. 3.Bc4C50 Italian Game
  3. 3...Nf6C55 Two Knights Defense
  4. 4.d4C56

The position after 4.d4

White has brought out the knight on f3 and bishop on c4; Black the knight on c6 and knight on f6. Black could capture with Nxd4, Nxe4, exd4. Undefended and attacked: the pawn on e4.

WhiteBlackMaterial (pawn units)3939Minor pieces developed22Moves spent on pawns21Pawns on d4, e4, d5, e521Squares attacked in the other half106not castlednot castled

Closest boards in other codes

CodeLineDiffers on
C43Petrov’s Defense: Modern Attackfour squares: f1, c4, c6, b8
C50Italian Gamefour squares: d2, d4, f6, g8
C57Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attackfour squares: d2, f3, d4, g5
C65Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defensefour squares: d2, c4, d4, b5
C24Bishop’s Opening: Berlin Defensesix squares: g1, d2, f3, d4, c6, b8
C28Vienna Game: Stanley Variation, Three Knights Variationsix squares: b1, g1, d2, c3, f3, d4
C42Petrov’s Defensesix squares: f1, d2, c4, d4, c6, b8

Where lines continue from here

Two named lines filed under other codes pass through the position after 4.d4. They belong to C44.

Volume C

  1. 00
  2. 01
  3. 02
  4. 03
  5. 04
  6. 05
  7. 06
  8. 07
  9. 08
  10. 09
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
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  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
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  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
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  96. 95
  97. 96
  98. 97
  99. 98
  100. 99

Open this line in the finderAll Italian Game codes