The Italian Game According to Eljanov – Part 1
The Opening That Suits Every Style
While the Ruy Lopez dominated elite repertoires for decades, the Italian Game quietly grew into one of the most theoretically rich and practically flexible options for White. Its pawn structures offer genuine choice — the same opening suits positional grinders and aggressive players alike.
GM Pavel Eljanov has made the Italian a cornerstone of his White repertoire in recent years, with strong results to show for it. His new project on Modern Chess translates that firsthand experience into a structured, deeply analyzed body of work covering Black's responses to 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4.
Eljanov's Perspective
Eljanov's approach is characteristically pragmatic. The Italian remains comparatively less explored than the Ruy Lopez, its positions are genuinely difficult for Black to simplify, and the resulting structures are playable across a wide range of styles. These are the author's stated reasons for building his own repertoire around this opening.
Readers familiar with Eljanov's Pirc Defense According to Eljanov – Part 1 and Part 2 will recognize the same analytical rigour here — those courses build a full Black answer to 1.e4, while this one approaches the open game from the other side of the table.
Variation Map
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6
- 3…d6 — the best of Black's rare third-move options, increasingly popular at top level → Chapter 1
4.d3
- 4…h6 — an aggressive sideline; Black intends …d6 and …g5, tried by Carlsen, Caruana, Nakamura → Chapter 2
- 4…d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.0-0
- 6…Nb6 — structurally worse for Black, limited counterplay → Chapter 3
- 6…Be7 — more solid, still not full equality on Eljanov's assessment → Chapter 4
- 4…Be7 — the Vienna Variation — 5.0-0 0-0 6.Nc3 d6 7.a4
- 7…a5 and rarer moves on move 7 → Chapter 5
- 7…Bg4 and 7…Be6 — Black aims for …c6-d5 or retreats to h5 → Chapter 6
- 7…Na5 and 7…Nb4 → Chapter 7
4…Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d5 — the Main Italian
7.exd5 Nxd5 8.a4
- 8…Kh8 — a rare pawn sacrifice concept, covered alongside other 8th-move rarities → Chapter 8
- 8…Bf5 — Black pressures d3 → Chapter 9
- 8…a5 — the main and most logical reply, stopping a4-a5 immediately → Chapter 10
- 8…Nb6 — engine-approved, forces White to commit the light-squared bishop → Chapter 10
Course Features
- 10 chapters
- 20 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To Go Version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
Get the Course
Start building your Italian Game repertoire with GM Pavel Eljanov today. A deeply prepared, flexible White repertoire — built on years of personal practice at the highest level.