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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Aleksei Sarana

A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 46 of Aleksei Sarana's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Aleksei Sarana chose most often. Where Aleksei Sarana 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 Aleksei Sarana or Chess.com.

  • Aleksei Sarana was #7 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,316) and scored 65% against opponents averaging 3,040 in these games.
  • You play Aleksei Sarana'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

#7

Chess.com

Rating

3,316

Games

46

in this opening

Score

65%

in these games

Opponents

3,040

average rating

More about Aleksei Sarana

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 · 17% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.a4 O-O 7.Nc3 a5 8.Re1 h6

  2. Line 2 · 15% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.Re1 O-O 7.a3 Be6

  3. Line 3 · 12% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.a4 O-O 7.Re1 Na5

  4. Line 4 · 10% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.c3 O-O

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3 Be7 9.Bd3 O-O 10.Nc3 h6 11.Nge4 Nd5 12.Ng3 Nb4 13.Nf5 Bg5

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.Nc3 Na5

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.h3 Na5

  9. Line 9 · 4% 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 14.c4 Nf4 15.Bf1 g4 16.d4 gxf3

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Nd5 9.h4 h6 10.Qh5 Qf6

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.Nc3 O-O

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.a3 a5 6.Nc3 Bc5

  13. Line 13 · 3% 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 14.Nc3 g4 15.Rb1 Nb4 16.Be2 Bb7

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

Aleksei Sarana'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 d6 6.a4 O-O 7.Nc3 a5 8.Re1 h6.

  1. 3…Nf6 Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 3…Nf6 in 41 games, scoring 70%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Aleksei Sarana's games A common reply here is 4.d3. At top level, this comes up about 71% of the time.
  3. 4…Be7 Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 4…Be7 in 18 games, scoring 72%.
  4. 5.O-O Reply · Aleksei Sarana's games A common reply here is 5.O-O. At top level, this comes up about 63% of the time.
  5. 5…d6 Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 5…d6 in 13 games, scoring 77%.
  6. 6.a4 Reply · Aleksei Sarana's games A common reply here is 6.a4. At top level, this comes up about 29% of the time.
  7. 6…O-O Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 6…O-O in 5 games, scoring 80%.
  8. 7.Nc3 Reply · Aleksei Sarana's games A common reply here is 7.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 17% of the time.
  9. 7…a5 Your move · Aleksei Sarana's games Aleksei Sarana played 7…a5 in 2 games, scoring 100%.
  10. 8.Re1 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8.Re1.
  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 Aleksei Sarana play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Aleksei Sarana's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.a4 O-O 7.Nc3 a5 8.Re1 h6. At top level it comes up about 17% of the time.
Is this Aleksei Sarana's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Aleksei Sarana's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
46 of Aleksei Sarana's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,040. Aleksei Sarana scored 65% 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 Aleksei Sarana?
GM Aleksei Sarana was ranked number 7 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,316 when this course was built.