Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026
Play against the Italian Game like Awonder Liang
A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 42 of Awonder Liang's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Awonder Liang chose most often. Where Awonder Liang has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Awonder Liang or Chess.com.
- Awonder Liang was #41 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,208) and scored 64% against opponents averaging 2,934 in these games.
- You play Awonder Liang's own move in 10 of 40 positions.
- The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.
Train lines
Learn a new line move by move. Lines due for review go to your daily review first.
Free · first 5 lines need no account
Blitz rank
#41
Chess.com
Rating
3,208
Games
42
in this opening
Score
64%
in these games
Opponents
2,934
average rating
Lines to learn
- Next
Line 1 · 21% at top level
3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.a3 Qe7
- New
Line 2 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Be3 Bb6
- New
Line 3 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6
- New
Line 4 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.Nc3 a6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Nd5 Qd8 10.c3 Ba7
- New
Line 5 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.a4 a5
- New
Line 6 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7
- New
Line 7 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d4 Bxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.f4 d6 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5 Qe7 10.Na3 Bd7 11.Qd2 Ne6
- New
Line 8 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bb3 O-O 7.h3 a5
- New
Line 9 · 5% at top level
3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a5 7.Re1 Ba7
- New
Line 10 · 4% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 d6 6.O-O a5
- New
Line 11 · 4% at top level
3…Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.c3 Nxe4
- New
Line 12 · 4% at top level
3…Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Be7
- New
Line 13 · 4% at top level
3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4
- New
Line 14 · 4% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 Ba7 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.Rxe3 O-O 10.h3 g6
- New
Line 15 · 4% at top level
3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 Ba7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.h3 Be6 10.Bb5 h6
- New
Line 16 · 3% at top level
3…Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a5 7.Nbd2 O-O
Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.
Awonder Liang's main line against the Italian Game, move by move
The most common line at top level: 3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.a3 Qe7.
- 3…Bc5 Your move · Awonder Liang's games Awonder Liang played 3…Bc5 in 26 games, scoring 63%.
- 4.c3 Reply · Awonder Liang's games A common reply here is 4.c3. At top level, this comes up about 35% of the time.
- 4…Nf6 Your move · Awonder Liang's games Awonder Liang played 4…Nf6 in 9 games, scoring 72%.
- 5.d3 Reply · Awonder Liang's games A common reply here is 5.d3. At top level, this comes up about 31% of the time.
- 5…d6 Your move · Awonder Liang's games Awonder Liang played 5…d6 in 6 games, scoring 67%.
- 6.Bg5 Reply · Awonder Liang's games A common reply here is 6.Bg5. At top level, this comes up about 21% of the time.
- 6…h6 Your move · Awonder Liang's games Awonder Liang played 6…h6 in 4 games, scoring 75%.
- 7.Bh4 Reply · Awonder Liang's games A common reply here is 7.Bh4.
- 7…a5 Your move · Awonder Liang's games Awonder Liang played 7…a5 in 3 games, scoring 67%.
- 8.Nbd2 Reply · Awonder Liang's games A common reply here is 8.Nbd2.
- 8…Ba7 Your move · Awonder Liang's games Awonder Liang played 8…Ba7 in 3 games, scoring 67%.
- 9.a3 Reply · Awonder Liang's games A common reply here is 9.a3.
- 9…Qe7 Your move · Awonder Liang's games Awonder Liang played 9…Qe7 in 2 games, scoring 100%.
Questions about this course
- How does Awonder Liang play against the Italian Game?
- After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Awonder Liang's most common line is 3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.a3 Qe7. At top level it comes up about 21% of the time.
- Is this Awonder Liang's course?
- No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Awonder Liang's public Chess.com blitz games.
- What is this Italian Game course based on?
- 42 of Awonder Liang's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,934. Awonder Liang scored 64% in them.
- How many lines does the course have?
- 16 lines covering 40 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
- Who is Awonder Liang?
- GM Awonder Liang was ranked number 41 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,208 when this course was built.