Rosentreter Gambit
4.d4
5 lines
Italian Game for White
For White1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
30 lines
Italian Game for White: the bishop on c4 aims at f7, the pieces come out fast and the king castles. The Two Knights Defense and the Fried Liver Attack, the Giuoco Piano and the Rosentreter Gambit, traps, and what to do when the opponent plays accurately.
Variations
Each card holds all the lines of one variation.
Two Knights Defense
3...Nf6
11 lines
Giuoco Piano
3...Bc5
9 lines
Other replies
3...h6, 3...d6, 3...Nd4, 3...f5
5 lines
The idea of the opening
The Italian Game starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4. The knight attacks the pawn on e5, and the bishop goes to c4 and aims at the pawn on f7 — early in the game only the king defends it. White develops quickly, castles and fights for the center.
Black has two main replies. In the Giuoco Piano 3...Bc5 the bishop stands opposite White's and eyes f2; White puts a pawn on c3 and prepares the d4 break in the center. In the Two Knights Defense 3...Nf6 the knight attacks the pawn on e4 at once: White calmly defends it with 4.d3 or jumps to g5 with the knight, and then the knight and the bishop hit f7 together.
Against 3...Bc5 White can also strike in the center right away, without preparation: 4.d4 — the Rosentreter Gambit, where White gives up a pawn for the center and an attack. The set also covers rarer replies: 3...h6, 3...d6, 3...Nd4 and 3...f5.
White's plans
- Develop the pieces quickly and castle
- Prepare the d4 break with a pawn on c3 and open the center
- Keep f7 under fire: the bishop on c4 and the knight from g5
- In the quiet lines — the rook to e1, the knight via d2 and f1 to the kingside, a pawn on h3 against the bishop on g4
Black's plans
- Attack the pawn on e4 with the knight
- Strike back in the center with ...d5
- Chase the bishop on c4 with the pawns a6 and b5
- Don't fall behind in development: an extra pawn move gives White time to attack
Main systems
The branches where the game starts. Each one is a separate variation in the trainer.
Two Knights Defense 3...Nf6
The knight attacks the pawn on e4. The quiet path is 4.d3: the pawn defends e4, followed by a pawn to c3, castling, the rook to e1 and the knight via d2 to f1; if Black's bishop goes to c5, this is the Giuoco Pianissimo. The sharp path is 4.Ng5: the knight and the bishop hit f7. Most often Black replies 4...d5 5.exd5. After 5...Na5 6.Bb5+ — the Polerio Defense — White is a pawn up. After 5...Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ — the Fried Liver Attack: White gives up the knight, and Black's king stays in the center without castling. The set also covers the knight jump 5...Nd4, the Ulvestad Variation 5...b5, the Traxler Counterattack 4...Bc5 and the Ponziani–Steinitz Gambit 4...Nxe4.
In the trainer · 11 lines
Giuoco Piano 4.c3
The bishop on c5 eyes f2, and White prepares the 5.d4 break with the pawn move 4.c3. Most often Black replies 4...Nf6, and after 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ we reach the Greco Gambit. Blocking with the knight, 7.Nc3, means giving up the pawn on e4: after 7...Nxe4 8.O-O the Møller–Therkatz Attack begins, and the capture 8...Nxc3 9.bxc3 leads to the Aitken Variation with a trap. Blocking with the bishop is calmer: 7.Bd2. White can also push the pawn forward at once, 6.e5, — the Anderssen Variation is covered here. Against 4...d6 — the same 5.d4 break.
In the trainer · 9 lines
Rosentreter Gambit 4.d4
The pawn on 4.d4 attacks the bishop on c5 and the pawn on e5: White offers a pawn for the center. After 4...exd4 5.Ng5 the knight hits f7 — in essence this is the Scotch Gambit, Sarratt Variation. Black's accurate reply is 5...Nh6: the knight covers f7. Moving the knight to the center, 5...Ne5?, is a trap, and its breakdown is open. The move 5.c3 is the Haxo Gambit: the c-pawn invites an exchange with the pawn on d4. And if the bishop takes the pawn itself, 4...Bxd4, this is the Rosentreter Variation.
In the trainer · 5 lines
Black's other replies 3...h6, 3...d6, 3...Nd4, 3...f5
The move 3...h6 keeps the knight off g5 — this is the Anti-Fried Liver Defense, but time is spent on a pawn, and White strikes in the center at once: 4.d4. Against the Paris Defense 3...d6 — also 4.d4. The move 3...Nd4 is the Blackburne–Kostić Gambit: don't take the pawn on e5 — then Black's queen jumps to g5 and attacks the knight. White trades knights: 4.Nxd4. Against the Rousseau Gambit 3...f5 the pawn on 4.d3 defends e4.
In the trainer · 5 lines
Typical mistakes and traps
Traps from these positions — why the natural move is a mistake and how to defend.
Knight on e5 and the d4 pawn
Italian Game
The knight leaves c6 for e5 — and only the bishop on c5 holds the pawn on d4. A series of captures on f7, a queen check — and White wins the bishop, then the pawn.
In the trainer
The bishop takes the rook on a1
Italian Game
Black's bishop takes the pawn on c3 and attacks the rook on a1. White gives up the rook: the bishop comes to a3, the rook checks from e1 — and Black loses the knight and the queen.
In the trainer
More opponent mistakes in the lines
- Taking the e4 pawn against the knight on g5
- The bishop takes the d4 pawn in the Traxler Counterattack
- The greedy queen in the Ulvestad Variation
- The bishop retreats to b6 in the Greco Gambit
- The knight goes to g4, away from the e5 pawn
- The early queen move to e7
- The knight to f6 while the bishop stands on b4
- The second pawn in the Haxo Gambit
- The bishop to c5 after the h6 move
How the lines were chosen
The lines are chosen from statistics of real games between amateur players of all levels. The set covers the opponent's most common replies and typical mistakes — moves after which, according to a chess engine, their position gets noticeably worse. A mistake is included only if a noticeable share of games reaches it. Traps are lines where your move provokes the mistake.
FAQ
How do you play the Italian Game as White?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 develop your pieces, castle and keep f7 under fire. Against the Giuoco Piano 3...Bc5 prepare the central break with 4.c3 and 5.d4, — or strike right away: 4.d4, the Rosentreter Gambit. Against the Two Knights Defense 3...Nf6 there is the quiet 4.d3 and the sharp 4.Ng5.
What is the Two Knights Defense?
It is the reply 3...Nf6: Black brings out the second knight and attacks the pawn on e4 at once. White defends it with the pawn move 4.d3 or plays the knight to 4.Ng5: the knight and the bishop hit f7 together. The most common answer to the knight jump is 4...d5: the pawn blocks the bishop on c4 from f7 and attacks it, and White takes it: 5.exd5.
What is the Fried Liver Attack?
It is a knight sacrifice on f7 in the Two Knights Defense: 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+. Black's king loses the right to castle and walks into the center, and the knight on d5 is pinned by the bishop on c4. White gets only a pawn for the knight, but the attack on the king gives White slightly the better game. More accurate for Black is 5...Na5 — the Polerio Defense: White checks with 6.Bb5+ and stays a pawn up. And to keep the knight off g5 altogether, Black sometimes plays 3...h6 at once — the Anti-Fried Liver Defense.
What traps are there in the Italian Game?
Two traps are broken down in full. In the Rosentreter Gambit, the knight move 5...Ne5? loses the bishop and a pawn after a series of captures on f7. In the Aitken Variation, the greedy 9...Bxc3? is punished by 10.Ba3: if the bishop takes the rook, 10...Bxa1?, the check 11.Re1+ wins the pinned knight and then the queen. Black also goes wrong elsewhere: taking the pawn with 4...Nxe4? against the knight on g5, the early queen move 6...Qe7? in the Greco Gambit, the greedy queen 7...Qxg2?? in the Ulvestad Variation. How to punish each mistake is in the lines.
How is the Italian Game different from the Ruy Lopez?
Both start with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6. In the Italian the bishop goes to c4 and looks at f7; in the Ruy Lopez it goes to b5 and presses on the knight on c6, which defends the pawn on e5. The Italian is often recommended to beginners: its ideas are clear from the first moves.
Can I study for free?
Yes: five lines are open — the quiet game 3...Nf6 4.d3, the Møller–Therkatz Attack 7.Nc3 Nxe4 8.O-O, the trap in the Aitken Variation 9...Bxc3, the Polerio Defense 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ and the trap 5...Ne5 in the Rosentreter Gambit. The other lines are in PRO.