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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Wesley So

A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 32 of Wesley So's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Wesley So chose most often. Where Wesley So 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 Wesley So or Chess.com.

  • Wesley So was #8 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,314) and scored 72% against opponents averaging 3,083 in these games.
  • You play Wesley So's own move in 5 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#8

Chess.com

Rating

3,314

Games

32

in this opening

Score

72%

in these games

Opponents

3,083

average rating

More about Wesley So

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 11 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 14% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Nc3 Nxe4

  2. Line 2 · 9% 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 10.Nbd2 Qd7 11.Nf1 Rad8

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.Nbd2 d6

  4. Line 4 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.Bd2 Bg4

  5. Line 5 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.c3 Na5 8.Bb5 a6 9.Ba4 c5 10.Bc2 Nc6 11.h3 Qc7

  6. Line 6 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.h3 Na5

  7. Line 7 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.c3 d6

  8. Line 8 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.a5 b5

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Nc3 d6 7.a4 a5 8.h3 h6

  10. Line 10 · 3% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.Bg5 Nd7

  11. Line 11 · 3% 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 10.Na3 h6

  12. Line 12 · 3% 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 10.Qb3 Qd7 11.Nbd2 h6 12.h3 Nh5

  13. Line 13 · 3% 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 10.h3 Nh5

  14. Line 14 · 3% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.Nc3 O-O 6.a3 d6

  15. Line 15 · 3% at top level

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

  16. Line 16 · 2% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.a3 d6 7.Nc3 Be6 8.Nd5 a5

  17. Line 17 · 2% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.a3 d6 7.b4 Bg4

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

Wesley So'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.Nc3 Nxe4.

  1. 3…Nf6 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 3…Nf6 in 29 games, scoring 69%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 4.d3. At top level, this comes up about 97% of the time.
  3. 4…Be7 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 4…Be7 in 14 games, scoring 82%.
  4. 5.O-O Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 5.O-O. At top level, this comes up about 83% of the time.
  5. 5…O-O Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 5…O-O in 12 games, scoring 79%.
  6. 6.Re1 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 6.Re1. At top level, this comes up about 62% of the time.
  7. 6…d6 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 6…d6 in 9 games, scoring 94%.
  8. 7.a4 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 7.a4. At top level, this comes up about 41% of the time.
  9. 7…Be6 Your move · Wesley So's games Wesley So played 7…Be6 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  10. 8.Nc3 Reply · Wesley So's games A common reply here is 8.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 14% of the time.
  11. 8…Nxe4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Wesley So play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Wesley So's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Be6 8.Nc3 Nxe4. At top level it comes up about 14% of the time.
Is this Wesley So's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Wesley So's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
32 of Wesley So's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,083. Wesley So scored 72% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
17 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 Wesley So?
GM Wesley So was ranked number 8 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,314 when this course was built.