Why is 8. a5 a good move in the mainline italian?

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Avatar of imgarbatchessxd
I have been using chessable (mobile xD, so no analysis) to study the Italian game, and 8. a5 is a mainline move. Why is this a good move, and what threats does it have?
Avatar of imgarbatchessxd
specifically, the 7…Kh8 line
Avatar of MisterOakwood
 
I understand that there are more ways for white to play the italian than these variations that I gave you. But the ideas are the same. Usually black has a choice between a6 and a5, both gives the c5 bishop a retreat square on a6 when it's hit with either b4 or Ne4. A5 also prevent white from grabbing space in the center with b4 and b5!? in some variations. But a5 also comes with a drawback; the b5 square is now weakened. That's why some players prefer a6 over a5.
 
I'm not sure about what specific position that you are referring to. But this is a common move in all the italians and the ideas are usually the same. The move is more positional and does not always have a direct threat.

 

Avatar of imgarbatchessxd
thanks, i’m more of a beginner, so any flank pawn move looks random to me xD
Avatar of MisterOakwood
imgarbatchessxd skrev:
thanks, i’m more of a beginner, so any flank pawn move looks random to me xD

Yeah, those moves are hard to understand at first. I would recommend that you start with simply developing pieces at first, as long as you understand your moves and they are not blunders, you are fine!

Avatar of blank0923

Would be nice to see the specific line you are referring to, but in general White plays a5 to just gain a little more space on the queenside and in the long run "freeze" Black's queenside structure. Black typically plays ...a5 to stop this queenside expansion, but as mentioned above, this has the drawback of weakening the b5 square. 

I don't know if your chess.com ratings are an accurate representation of your current strength, but if they are, then I wouldn't recommend learning the subtleties of the Italian, as these are things that even strong players may struggle to understand.

Avatar of imgarbatchessxd
ik everyone says they are but I think i’m a little stronger than my rating xd. I am a beginner though, and i’m trying to understand what moves in my “main” opening are good. thanks!
Avatar of Steven-ODonoghue
imgarbatchessxd wrote:
 but I think i’m a little stronger than my rating xd

I think I'm a little taller than my height, and a little heavier than my weight.

Avatar of pfren

This is mainline 2 Knights, not Italian, but anyway.

Other than generally gaining space, this moves takes care of Black's plan of ...Na5 (in place of ...Kh8) followed by ...c5 after the c4 bishop retreats to a2, and which has more or less become the most popular plan of the 2 knights defence currently.

Referring to the position in #8.

Avatar of Viictorzf
interesting
Avatar of imgarbatchessxd
xd these comments are hilarious, what I meant was I am better than 700s in guess the leo, which isn’t a great standard for skill, but still.
Avatar of imgarbatchessxd
i’ve played 400 games?
Avatar of imgarbatchessxd
also OTB games exist