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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Liem Le

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

  • Liem Le was #38 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,209) and scored 54% against opponents averaging 2,962 in these games.
  • You play Liem Le's own move in 11 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#38

Chess.com

Rating

3,209

Games

54

in this opening

Score

54%

in these games

Opponents

2,962

average rating

More about Liem Le

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 · 17% at top level

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

  2. Line 2 · 9% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 O-O

  3. Line 3 · 9% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 O-O

  4. Line 4 · 8% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nbd2 Nxe4 8.d5 Ne7 9.O-O Nxd2 10.Nxd2 O-O 11.a3 Ba5 12.b4 Bb6 13.a4 d6

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 h6

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Be7 6.d4 Na5

  7. Line 7 · 3% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Be3 Bb6

  8. Line 8 · 3% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Be7

  9. Line 9 · 3% at top level

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

  10. Line 10 · 3% at top level

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

  11. Line 11 · 3% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Nbd2 a5

  12. Line 12 · 3% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 h6 6.h3 d6 7.Na4 Bb6 8.a3 Bd7 9.O-O O-O

  13. Line 13 · 3% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Be3 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qc2 Ba5

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

Liem Le'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.O-O O-O 7.Re1 a5.

  1. 3…Bc5 Your move · Liem Le's games Liem Le played 3…Bc5 in 38 games, scoring 53%.
  2. 4.c3 Reply · Liem Le's games A common reply here is 4.c3. At top level, this comes up about 39% of the time.
  3. 4…Nf6 Your move · Liem Le's games Liem Le played 4…Nf6 in 15 games, scoring 43%.
  4. 5.d3 Reply · Liem Le's games A common reply here is 5.d3. At top level, this comes up about 24% of the time.
  5. 5…d6 Your move · Liem Le's games Liem Le played 5…d6 in 7 games, scoring 50%.
  6. 6.O-O Reply · Liem Le's games A common reply here is 6.O-O. At top level, this comes up about 17% of the time.
  7. 6…O-O Your move · Liem Le's games Liem Le played 6…O-O in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  8. 7.Re1 Reply · Liem Le's games A common reply here is 7.Re1.
  9. 7…a5 Your move · Liem Le's games Liem Le played 7…a5 in 2 games, scoring 50%.

Questions about this course

How does Liem Le play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Liem Le's most common line is 3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 a5. At top level it comes up about 17% of the time.
Is this Liem Le's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Liem Le's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
54 of Liem Le's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,962. Liem Le scored 54% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
13 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 Liem Le?
GM Liem Le was ranked number 38 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,209 when this course was built.