The basics of Italian opening for beginners

The Italian is one of the first openings beginners learn and can be played both defensively and aggressively. This solid opening is used across all rating groups and can end games in fewer than 10 moves if black does not know what he is doing. Remember that this is just the basics; if you are interested in this opening, you may have to look further into it on your own.

It occurs after e4 and e5, opening the diagonals for the bishops.

Nf3 attacks the center pawn and Nc6 defends the pawn.

White then proceeds with Bc4 attacking the weak f7 pawn. Keep an eye on tactical skirmishes available for white due to the f7 pawn due to the king being its only defender.  

Nf6 is one of the most common moves played by black. This develops their knight

and threatens to capture our e5 pawn. To respond to their threat, white can pick between 4 choices.

One move you can play is castle. However, I believe that this move is inferior to its counterparts, even though the position is playable. The position should be easy to play for both sides. White has a slight lead in development but has compromised pawns that could become liabilities in the endgame. 
 
Although this catle is inferior, it still has its threats and requires black to play with caution. Here is an example if black is not careful:

I prefer to target the f7 weakness sooner than later and believe it to be stronger than the previous series of moves above. Ng5 holds a lot of venom and can give white a nearly winning position if its strength is overlooked.

Relying on the fork alone is not recommended because people may realize your threat. I will not go over the mainline since these are the basics to help you get a greater understanding of the Italian opening. One of the most common moves and the best move is d4. Black realizes that a way to stop the threat is to interpose (block) the bishop on c4. 

Taking the pawn back immediately with the knight is a fatal mistake for black. To the black's surprise, the pawn on f7 is not protected at all. Black is forced to take the knight accepting the danger that is about to slap him.

This is one of the worst ways to get checkmated in chess. I have faced many players to my surprise, getting checkmated like this. The only move to defend for black to defend his knight is to move his king closer to the center.

With the center opening up, black cannot survive if the king remains on e6. The bong cloud may be powerful, but not in this position.

e3 is another choice white can decide to play that leads to one of the most common setups for beginners. This position allows easy play and understanding of the position for both sides. 

The last move white can decide to play against Nf6 is d4 attacking the center. d4 is commonly used in blitz due to the amount of traps black has to be aware of.

playing d6  or Nc5 are the only moves that allow black somewhat of a fighting chance if they take the free pawn on e5. Any other move allows a massive advantage towards white according to the engine.

If black takes on d4, there are many lines available. One such line is the one shown above.

Black can't take the knight with his own knight because it is pinned to the king. He can't capture our knight on c3 with the pawn either because it is pinned to the queen. The resulting position has an equal evaluation but is hanging on a knifes edge between the two players.

I do not recommend d4 against Nf6 unless you have a good understanding of the fundamentals and tactics.

Many people play h6 against the Italian simply out of fear of the knight moving to g5. However, this move does not do anything for black's position in the center. White will immediately attack the center up a tempo.

There are a ridiculous amount of choices to pick from against the "anti-friedliver defense." One such choice is to gambit your queenside pawns in Danish gambit style to capitalize on black's lack of development. 

Black has the choice to defend his pawn on e5 with d6. However, black must play precisely to not lose. White can either trade off the queens and go into an endgame up a pawn.

Nc3 is also a plausible move. The idea of Nc3 is to play how you normally would have but be up a tempo (be ahead of a move).

If black decides to pin our knight with Bf3, we can set up a famous trap for black. Black will often drop their bishop back when we play h3 to maintain the pin on the knight. This move will be a fatal blow to black since white can sacrifice their queen to threaten checkmate.

Another move you might come across while playing the Italian is Bc5. This develops black bishop and disallows previous ideas for white if black played Nf6 or h6. 

One way to play against Bc5 is c3. White is making a clear intention to play d4 and control the center. If black is stubborn and does not contest white's center, white will have a very easy game.

Another way is the opening referred to as the "Guioco Pianissimo. This is the opening favored by Grandmasters where white plays based on a similar idea to the previous move above. White wants to play d4 but not immediately. White tries to slow play the position placing each piece on its optimal square before pushing in the center.

A more exciting move is b4, known as the Evans gambit. White sacrifices their pawn for an extra tempo (move). 

Black cannot be greedy and take all of white's pawns. Once again, the pawn on f7 is extremely weak and can be targeted with white's pieces. Black will have to allow white the full center.

If black retreats their bishop to a5 after white plays c3, white cannot play the same thing as if black moved the bishop back to c5. The bishop on a5 puts annoying pressure on white’s position, pinning our pawn to the king.

However, with black's bishop on a5, their knight cannot occupy that square. This allows white to play Qb3 after pushing d4 without the worry of a fork on white's bishop and queen.

The move Qb3 threatens to capture the weak pawn on f7 (a common theme) forcing black to defend the pawn. After all the exchanges are traded, white has a comfortable position with the initiative.

All in all, the Italian is a good opening to start playing. You might even see an increase in your rating. Although there are more moves and themes to remember compared to the London opening, the games you get are exciting and flexible. I hope this helps someone out. :3