Giuoco Pianissimo
Italian Game · C53 · you play White. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6
About the Giuoco Pianissimo
The Giuoco Pianissimo, "the very quiet game", is the modern way to play the Italian. Instead of an early d4, White plays c3 and d3, castles, and slowly brings the pieces to their best squares before opening the centre. It leads to rich manoeuvring positions where understanding matters more than memorising, which is why it is the main Italian line at club and grandmaster level alike.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6: that is the start of the Giuoco Pianissimo, a C53 line of the Italian Game for White. There are 5 lines of this opening to train. Go through the Giuoco Pianissimo one move at a time, and when you know it, try to play the whole line without help. Knowing the moves is only half the work, so this page also covers the plans for the middlegame, the endgames to aim for and some grandmaster games. Train it regularly as part of your White repertoire: the speed mode and drill show quickly which moves you still forget.