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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Andrey Esipenko

A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 54 of Andrey Esipenko's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Andrey Esipenko chose most often. Where Andrey Esipenko 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 Andrey Esipenko or Chess.com.

  • Andrey Esipenko was #30 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,230) and scored 72% against opponents averaging 2,837 in these games.
  • You play Andrey Esipenko's own move in 13 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#30

Chess.com

Rating

3,230

Games

54

in this opening

Score

72%

in these games

Opponents

2,837

average rating

More about Andrey Esipenko

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 13 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 13% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.c3 a5

  2. Line 2 · 9% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.a5 Bxc4 9.dxc4 b6 10.a6 Qc8 11.c3 Nb8 12.Qa4 Qe6

  3. Line 3 · 8% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Nc3 d6 7.a3 Bg4

  4. Line 4 · 8% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.a4 d6

  5. Line 5 · 8% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.a4 O-O

  6. Line 6 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Nd5

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Qe2 d5 6.Bb5 Bd6 7.c4 Nf6 8.d4 e4 9.cxd5 O-O 10.dxc6 exf3 11.Qxf3 Bg4 12.Qc3 Nd5 13.Qc2 Nb4

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Nbd2 Bxc4 9.Nxc4 h6 10.Bd2 a5

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Nbd2 Bxc4 9.Nxc4 h6 10.Ne3 Re8

  10. Line 10 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Nd7 7.O-O Be7 8.Bxc6 bxc6

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Andrey Esipenko's main line against the Italian Game, move by move

The most common line at top level: 3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.c3 a5.

  1. 3…Nf6 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 3…Nf6 in 37 games, scoring 74%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 4.d3. At top level, this comes up about 76% of the time.
  3. 4…Be7 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 4…Be7 in 20 games, scoring 75%.
  4. 5.O-O Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 5.O-O. At top level, this comes up about 64% of the time.
  5. 5…O-O Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 5…O-O in 17 games, scoring 71%.
  6. 6.Re1 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 6.Re1. At top level, this comes up about 38% of the time.
  7. 6…d6 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 6…d6 in 10 games, scoring 60%.
  8. 7.a4 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 7.a4. At top level, this comes up about 34% of the time.
  9. 7…Be6 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 7…Be6 in 8 games, scoring 69%.
  10. 8.Bxe6 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 8.Bxe6. At top level, this comes up about 13% of the time.
  11. 8…fxe6 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 8…fxe6 in 3 games, scoring 83%.
  12. 9.c3 Reply · Andrey Esipenko's games A common reply here is 9.c3.
  13. 9…a5 Your move · Andrey Esipenko's games Andrey Esipenko played 9…a5 in 3 games, scoring 83%.

Questions about this course

How does Andrey Esipenko play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Andrey Esipenko's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.c3 a5. At top level it comes up about 13% of the time.
Is this Andrey Esipenko's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Andrey Esipenko's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
54 of Andrey Esipenko's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,837. Andrey Esipenko scored 72% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
10 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 Andrey Esipenko?
GM Andrey Esipenko was ranked number 30 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,230 when this course was built.