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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Sam Sevian

A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 48 of Sam Sevian's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Sam Sevian chose most often. Where Sam Sevian 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 Sam Sevian or Chess.com.

  • Sam Sevian was #28 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,234) and scored 66% against opponents averaging 2,975 in these games.
  • You play Sam Sevian's own move in 6 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#28

Chess.com

Rating

3,234

Games

48

in this opening

Score

66%

in these games

Opponents

2,975

average rating

More about Sam Sevian

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 · 8% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.h3 a5 8.Bb3 h6

  2. Line 2 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 a6

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.O-O a5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Be6

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.O-O a5 7.Bg5 Ba7

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.O-O a5 7.h3 h6

  6. Line 6 · 6% 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

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

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

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg5 d6 6.c3 h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.a4 g5

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.Re1 Be6 9.Bb5 Qb8

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.h3 Be6

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.Bb3 a5 7.h3 Be6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Nf1 d5

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

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

  13. Line 13 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.a4 a6

  14. Line 14 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.h3 a6

  15. Line 15 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.Re1 O-O 7.c3 Bb6

  16. Line 16 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.a3 d6

  17. Line 17 · 3% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Qe2 d5 6.Bb5 Bd6 7.c4 Nf6

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

Sam Sevian's main line against the Italian Game, move by move

The most common line at top level: 3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.h3 a5 8.Bb3 h6.

  1. 3…Nf6 Your move · Sam Sevian's games Sam Sevian played 3…Nf6 in 34 games, scoring 66%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Sam Sevian'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 · Sam Sevian's games Sam Sevian played 4…Bc5 in 25 games, scoring 64%.
  4. 5.c3 Reply · Sam Sevian's games A common reply here is 5.c3. At top level, this comes up about 46% of the time.
  5. 5…d6 Your move · Sam Sevian's games Sam Sevian played 5…d6 in 11 games, scoring 55%.
  6. 6.Nbd2 Reply · Sam Sevian's games A common reply here is 6.Nbd2. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  7. 6…O-O Your move · Top-50 players Sam Sevian has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  8. 7.h3 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7.h3.
  9. 7…a5 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  10. 8.Bb3 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8.Bb3.
  11. 8…h6 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Sam Sevian play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Sam Sevian's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.h3 a5 8.Bb3 h6. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Sam Sevian's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Sam Sevian's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
48 of Sam Sevian's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,975. Sam Sevian scored 66% 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 Sam Sevian?
GM Sam Sevian was ranked number 28 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,234 when this course was built.