Play f5 on your second move (latvian gambit) I would imagine that would shake an Italian game player down to his boots :)
Italian Game Blues
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Jun 3, 2010
0
#3
See if this will help you here- http://www.chess.com/article/view/openings-for-tactical-players-italian-game or this one http://www.chess.com/article/view/openings-for-tactical-players-evans-gambit
Is this a thematic tournament? (That is, one where the first moves are fixed in advance). If not, there is nothing to force you into the Italian Game. You can just play 1.d4 as white, and the Sicilian as black.
Jun 4, 2010
0
#6
Well, Sir Lewis, there are many ways to handle your little Italian Game problem but, here is by far the most obvious: Don't play it!!! If you are black and your opponent plays 1.e4, there is a myriad of responses other than 1...e5. Try my personal favorite: 1...c5. This is the first move in the Sicilian Defense and it has many variations from which to choose from, the Dragon, Scheveningen among many others, just find the variation you are comfortable with and play it. But, please note that the Sicilian requires a lot of study, no matter what variant you select, so keep that in mind. And of course there are other openings for black if you choose not to the 1...c5. So, find an opening you feel comfortable with, study it a bit and play it against 1.e4, instead of playing into an opening you don't know. Or, the other option is to find a book on it and study the Italian game until you are comfortable in it. Well, good luck and as we say here on the island: Always make the best move!
If you don't mind cramped defenses or Queenles middlegames, there's the Hungarian Defense http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Defense.
I play the Italian and rarely see this played, sure White can go into an endgame with a slight plus, but if you don't know the main lines of the Guioco where one bad move means a loss, then this might be your best bet.
Embrace 2...Nf6!, and learn to love the sound of groans coming from your opponents.
I you finding yourself in a losing position almost everytime out of the Italian game, don't switch to the sicilian. The Italian game in one of the simplest openings, granted there are traps and some tactics, but openings like the sicilian require a lot more opening knowledge. If you don't understand the italian game don't change to another opening that you know nothing about, just keep playing it you'll figure it out eventually.
I play the italian game as white, I'll show you how to equalize against the line I play.
I need help with this desperately. I go to a small, rapid, three round chess tournament every friday and the Italian Game is VERY popular there! Unfortunately for me I am very bad at playing against this. Usually I go ahed and play Giuoco Piano but I don't really understand the concepts and I find myself in a losing position almost every time. What I could use is explanation as to what this opening is all about, and ways to transpose out of it.