Italian Game: Scotch Gambit (C56)

In this branch of the Italian, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4, White opens the centre before Black has castled. After 4...exd4 5.O-O the game can turn into the Max Lange Attack or a quieter position with ...Be7 and ...d6; after 5.e5 the knight on f6 has to jump to e4 or g4. In all of these lines the bishop on c4 points at f7, and that one square explains most of the mistakes.

White's most common error is the bishop sacrifice that does not work. After 4...exd4 5.O-O d6 6.c3 Be7 White plays 7.Bxf7+? and after 7...Kxf7 none of the follow-up checks works: White has given a bishop for a pawn. The same happens after 4...d6 5.O-O Bg4 6.Bxf7+? Kxf7, and in the Max Lange line 4.O-O Bc5 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 Ng4 7.Bf4 d6 8.Bxf7+? Kxf7.

Another white mistake is a bishop move that ignores the black knight. After 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5 d5 7.Bd3 Ne4 White plays 8.Bg5?, and 8...Nxg5 simply takes it: the knight on e4 was already looking at g5.

Black's mistakes are about the king. In a line that starts 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.Nxd4 Be7 7.Nf5, the counterattack 7...d5?? allows 8.Nxg7+, a knight check that opens the black king and wins material. With the king still on e8, every pawn move in the centre has to be checked against Nf5, Re1 and Bxf7+.

The Fried Liver Attack, the most famous trap in the Two Knights, has its own page. The puzzles below cover the rest of this sharp Italian line.