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More Chess Traps in the Italian Opening
The Italian Opening is one of the oldest chess openings, first mentioned in the 16th century. Is also one of the most played openings, from the World Champion to most beginners. The Italian is played in every tournament!
The Italian has different variations which makes it an ideal weapon. You can play powerful gambits to play for a win in spectacular fashion, or you can navigate the calm waters of the Giuoco Pianissimo. But, even this quiet variation has many tactical tricks that should be known for every chess player.
The Giuoco Pianissimo starts after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 (or 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3, or even 3…Nf6 4.d3), and it can be your only weapon against 1…e5, which is the most played opening in the club level (together with the Sicilian and the French Defense).
In today’s video, GM Damian Lemos will show you two modern games between the best players of the world. Damian use these impressive games to teach you tactical tricks that every chess player must know, as they can also arise from other openings!
Giri – Anand
The first game is a blitz between Anish Giri and former World Champion Vishy Anand. It started with the normal Italian moves, but then Black decided to open the center with 14…d5. The next position arises, when White display his knowledge of this opening.More Chess Traps in the Italian Opening 1
Black has a typical weakness, that it’s important to know. What did Giri play?
White played 17.Nh4!, planning to place the knight on the f5-square. This knight is very powerful there, as it attacks the pawns on g7 and h6, creating many tactical opportunities. This game is an excellent example! After 17…Rad8 18.Nhf5 Kh8, White, in fact, can start a very dangerous attack (see the next diagram).
More Chess Traps in the Italian Opening 2In this position, White played 19.d4! exd4 20.Nxg7!! Rxe1+ 21.Qxe1 Kxg7 22.Bxh6+!, and Black is in real danger!
Sacrificing two pieces, White’s attack is almost unstoppable!
Anand didn’t take the bishop and played 22…Kh8!, but he couldn’t resist the next wave of attack.
Caruana – Nakamura
The second game is super important for the beginners and club players alike, as it shows a typical attacking idea in many 1.e4 e5 openings.
In the next position, decide what would you play with the white pieces. More Chess Traps in the Italian Opening 3
Caruana sacrifice the knight for two pawns with 10.Nxg5!? hxg5 11.Bxg5. After that, the pinned Nf6 is in danger, as White can increase the pressure with moves like Qf3 or f4 (opening the f-file). But the real question is if the compensation is sufficient.
Black defended the knight with 11…Kg7 (threatening to move the queen and unpin the knight), so White is forced to play 12.Qf3. A few more moves (12…Rh8 13.Nd2 Kg6) and White played a mistake: 14.h4?
This move allowed Black to unravel his position. Do you know how? Watch the full free video to discover how the game finished!
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