PS: should i trade the lightsquare bishop? i was afraid of the attack along the c-file
trying to understanding the Itialian game (c3, d3)
The a4 move has several possible purposes (assuming that black doesn’t take on a4):
(1) The pawn goes further to a5, gaining space and restricting black’s chances for a queenside attack. The a6-pawn can be a weakness in endgames. b2-b4 is a standard follow-up that protects your a5-pawn.
(2) Pile up your rooks and open up the a-file with axb5. These can be done in different orders.
(3) Tactical opportunities based on Rxa8 and/or the b5-pawn. e.g. 13. d4 Bb6 14. a4 c5?! 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Bg5 black has to allow his kingside structure to be ruined.
(1) The pawn goes further to a5, gaining space and restricting black’s chances for a queenside attack. The a6-pawn can be a weakness in endgames. b2-b4 is a standard follow-up that protects your a5-pawn.
(2) Pile up your rooks and open up the a-file with axb5. These can be done in different orders.
(3) Tactical opportunities based on Rxa8 and/or the b5-pawn. e.g. 13. d4 Bb6 14. a4 c5?! 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Bg5 black has to allow his kingside structure to be ruined.
@inkspirit thx!
to you know a game, where (1) is shown in praxis?
I play this system too, but not for very long. If you don't want to move your bishop from the a2-g8 diagonal you can move the a-pawn to make it stay there. Often black will try Na5 after d6 and then you will have to trade the bishop for the knight. If you go bc2 instead after bb3 then you get some Ruy Lopez style game. Which is fine if thats your cup of tea, ofcourse.
Other main ideas are stopping blacks pawn pushing on the queenside. Black could try to move your bishop with b5 at some point. Also, I've played against the computer (to learn my opening) and he did some nasty trap against me. Its with a6 and Bh7 and without d6.
Two excellent books focused on the Italian Game (aka Giuoco Piano)....use Amazon's "Look Inside" feature located just above the book's graphic....
My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White: A Turn-key Package for Ambitious Beginners by Vincent Moret......as the title says, presents a complete opening repertoire for White....also check my (RLBell) book review on Amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/First-Chess-Opening-Repertoire-White/dp/9056916335/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TEKG0JLVJPSD&keywords=my+first+chess+opening+repertoire+for+white&qid=1566506319&s=books&sprefix=my+first+chess+%2Cstripbooks%2C286&sr=1-1
book excerpt...
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
the book is reviewed here by John Bartholomew, as well as offered in an online interactive format on Chessable (an excellent chess instruction/training site)....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f41ZbPq9OpE
https://www.chessable.com/my-first-chess-opening-repertoire-for-white/course/7543/
Winning with the Slow (but Venomous!) Italian: An Easy-to-Grasp Chess Opening for White by Georgios Souleidis & Karsten Müller.......is specifically concerned with the 4.c3/5.d3 Italian Game.....
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Venomous-Italian-Easy-Grasp/dp/9056916742/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+slow+but+venomous+italian&qid=1566506636&s=gateway&sr=8-1
book excerpt...
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9037.pdf
A free introductory course on the Italian Game, on Chessable....
https://www.chessable.com/short-sweet-the-italian-game/course/4999/
Italian Game on the web...
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=italian+game+chess&atb=v119-1&ia=web
inkspirit wrote:
The a4 move has several possible purposes (assuming that black doesn’t take on a4):
(1) The pawn goes further to a5, gaining space and restricting black’s chances for a queenside attack. The a6-pawn can be a weakness in endgames. b2-b4 is a standard follow-up that protects your a5-pawn.
(2) Pile up your rooks and open up the a-file with axb5. These can be done in different orders.
(3) Tactical opportunities based on Rxa8 and/or the b5-pawn. e.g. 13. d4 Bb6 14. a4 c5?! 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Bg5 black has to allow his kingside structure to be ruined.
(1) The pawn goes further to a5, gaining space and restricting black’s chances for a queenside attack. The a6-pawn can be a weakness in endgames. b2-b4 is a standard follow-up that protects your a5-pawn.
(2) Pile up your rooks and open up the a-file with axb5. These can be done in different orders.
(3) Tactical opportunities based on Rxa8 and/or the b5-pawn. e.g. 13. d4 Bb6 14. a4 c5?! 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Bg5 black has to allow his kingside structure to be ruined.
the following two games are analyzed in detail in the aforementioned book by Muller & Souleidis (p.45 & p.163, respectively)...
relevant notable games...
I thought the O.P. played very well.
RussBell wrote:
inkspirit wrote:
The a4 move has several possible purposes (assuming that black doesn’t take on a4):
(1) The pawn goes further to a5, gaining space and restricting black’s chances for a queenside attack. The a6-pawn can be a weakness in endgames. b2-b4 is a standard follow-up that protects your a5-pawn.
(2) Pile up your rooks and open up the a-file with axb5. These can be done in different orders.
(3) Tactical opportunities based on Rxa8 and/or the b5-pawn. e.g. 13. d4 Bb6 14. a4 c5?! 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Bg5 black has to allow his kingside structure to be ruined.
(1) The pawn goes further to a5, gaining space and restricting black’s chances for a queenside attack. The a6-pawn can be a weakness in endgames. b2-b4 is a standard follow-up that protects your a5-pawn.
(2) Pile up your rooks and open up the a-file with axb5. These can be done in different orders.
(3) Tactical opportunities based on Rxa8 and/or the b5-pawn. e.g. 13. d4 Bb6 14. a4 c5?! 15. axb5 axb5 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Bg5 black has to allow his kingside structure to be ruined.
the following two games are analyzed in detail in the aforementioned book by Muller & Souleidis (p.45 & p.163, respectively)...
relevant notable games...
Ok Im not OP but I'm interested also in this system. In these games though black plays d5 and that is a totally different game. I don't think its the same as the line where Nbd2 is played and no d5.
Why25...BXC4 win a piece? Think your opponent missed it.
I was quite impressed. I don't think he missed it. It allows quite a massive attack. Bxc4, Bxc4, Qxc4, Nf5. One or two pawns for the piece and it looks like white has real pressure.
Opti. I see your pressure. But what is the compensation for being down a piece?
Notice how the first dozen or so moves in the OP game look a lot like the Ruy Lopez d3 variation. Same Knight maneuver Nb1-d2-f1-g3 for instance, Bishop creeps back to c2.
Ha, not sure! I assumed black didn't have time to defend the d-pawn but he does. I thought the game looked like 2 GMs playing for a draw. I didn't notice who was playing it. So, when I saw the piece en prise, still thinking it was a game between GMs, I didn't look very hard but just assumed there was a strong attack. There isn't, however! 
Nwap111 wrote:
Why25...BXC4 win a piece? Think your opponent missed it.
actually i played d5 first. All the other moves are correct though, i am sorry^^
25.d5 Bd7 26.Nxc4 Qb7 27. Nxd6
Optimissed wrote:
I thought the O.P. played very well.
what do you mean with O.P.?
Opti. No big deal. The player corrected his notation.
I played this in my last tournament. I was white. 90 min + 30 sec/move, after 40 moves + 30 min.
I have toruble to really understand the italian game. What is my goal? when to attack a (a4,b5) structure?
Edit: 25.d5 Bd7 26.Nxc4 Qb7 27. Nxd6