Bargsten: Italian Opening for White - 2nd EDITION

The Italian Opening is one of the oldest openings in chess history, mentioned as early as the 15th century, but is still a frequent guest even at the highest level, most recently in the 2021 World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Jan Nepomnjaschtschi. Although the challenger lost this game, the mere application of the Italian Opening shows that it is also used at all levels.

is a serious weapon at the highest level.

The Italian Opening is chosen by many White players to get a meaningful game. The positions are often less concrete and tactical than in other openings, and because they are also less analyzed, the Modern Italian offers a good mix of unexplored areas and positional understanding.

The author's aim in this book is to illustrate the modern ideas of the Italian Opening to intermediate players. It covers positions based on White's "slow" plan, when he takes a calm approach based on positional ideas. The aim is not to provide the reader with a complete repertoire, but rather to explain the ideas of the resulting middlegame positions.

The material mainly includes the systems 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 h6 6.0–0 d6 7.Re1 a6 8.a4 Ba7 9.Nbd2 0–0 10.h3 and 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.0–0 0–0 7.h3 h6 8.Re1 a5, of which the latter in particular has gained enormous popularity in current practice.

123 pages, paperback, 2nd edition 2023