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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Brewington Hardaway

A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 40 of Brewington Hardaway's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Brewington Hardaway chose most often. Where Brewington Hardaway 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 Brewington Hardaway or Chess.com.

  • Brewington Hardaway was #36 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,217) and scored 68% against opponents averaging 3,035 in these games.
  • You play Brewington Hardaway's own move in 4 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#36

Chess.com

Rating

3,217

Games

40

in this opening

Score

68%

in these games

Opponents

3,035

average rating

More about Brewington Hardaway

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 9 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 27% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.a4 O-O

  2. Line 2 · 16% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.a3 d6

  3. Line 3 · 9% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 Be6 9.Bb5 Ba7 10.Nbd2 h6

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 d6 7.c3 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.O-O O-O

  5. Line 5 · 3% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.Nf1 Be6

  6. Line 6 · 3% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 d6 7.c3 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.a3 g5

  7. Line 7 · 3% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 d6

  8. Line 8 · 2% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.O-O a5 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 Be6

  9. Line 9 · 2% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 O-O 8.Bb3 Ng4

  10. Line 10 · 2% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 O-O 8.Nbd2 Be6

  11. Line 11 · 2% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Nd7 7.O-O Be7 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxd4 Nb8 10.Nc3 O-O

  12. Line 12 · 2% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Nd5 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.O-O O-O 11.Re1 f5 12.Nxe5 Qf6 13.Nf3 g5

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

Brewington Hardaway's main line against the Italian Game, move by move

The most common line at top level: 3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.a4 O-O.

  1. 3…Nf6 Your move · Brewington Hardaway's games Brewington Hardaway played 3…Nf6 in 26 games, scoring 73%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Brewington Hardaway's games A common reply here is 4.d3. At top level, this comes up about 88% of the time.
  3. 4…Bc5 Your move · Brewington Hardaway's games Brewington Hardaway played 4…Bc5 in 11 games, scoring 77%.
  4. 5.O-O Reply · Brewington Hardaway's games A common reply here is 5.O-O. At top level, this comes up about 40% of the time.
  5. 5…d6 Your move · Brewington Hardaway's games Brewington Hardaway played 5…d6 in 4 games, scoring 88%.
  6. 6.c3 Reply · Brewington Hardaway's games A common reply here is 6.c3.
  7. 6…a5 Your move · Brewington Hardaway's games Brewington Hardaway played 6…a5 in 3 games, scoring 83%.
  8. 7.a4 Reply · Brewington Hardaway's games A common reply here is 7.a4. At top level, this comes up about 27% of the time.
  9. 7…O-O Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Brewington Hardaway play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Brewington Hardaway's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.a4 O-O. At top level it comes up about 27% of the time.
Is this Brewington Hardaway's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Brewington Hardaway's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
40 of Brewington Hardaway's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,035. Brewington Hardaway scored 68% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
12 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 Brewington Hardaway?
GM Brewington Hardaway was ranked number 36 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,217 when this course was built.