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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Nihal Sarin

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

  • Nihal Sarin was #4 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,365) and scored 59% against opponents averaging 3,199 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 16 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#4

Chess.com

Rating

3,365

Games

54

in this opening

Score

59%

in these games

Opponents

3,199

average rating

More about Nihal Sarin

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 15 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 13% 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 10.b4 Ne7

  2. Line 2 · 7% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 a5 8.Nbd2 Be6 9.Bb5 Qb8 10.Nf1 Qa7 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Nxe3 Ne7

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

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

  5. Line 5 · 6% 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 10.Ba2 Ne7

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

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

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a6

  8. Line 8 · 5% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.b4 Bb6 7.a4 a5 8.b5 Ne7

  9. Line 9 · 5% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6

  10. Line 10 · 5% 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

  11. Line 11 · 5% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.a3 d6

  12. Line 12 · 5% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 d6

  13. Line 13 · 5% at top level

    3…Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.b4 Bb6 7.e5 d5

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

Nihal Sarin's main line against the Italian Game, move by move

The most common line 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 10.b4 Ne7.

  1. 3…Bc5 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 3…Bc5 in 46 games, scoring 58%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 4.d3. At top level, this comes up about 37% of the time.
  3. 4…Nf6 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 4…Nf6 in 15 games, scoring 57%.
  4. 5.Nc3 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 5.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 22% of the time.
  5. 5…h6 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 5…h6 in 7 games, scoring 43%.
  6. 6.h3 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 6.h3. At top level, this comes up about 19% of the time.
  7. 6…d6 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 6…d6 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  8. 7.Na4 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 7.Na4.
  9. 7…Bb6 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 7…Bb6 in 4 games, scoring 25%.
  10. 8.a3 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 8.a3.
  11. 8…Bd7 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 8…Bd7 in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  12. 9.O-O Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 9.O-O.
  13. 9…O-O Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 9…O-O in 3 games, scoring 33%.
  14. 10.b4 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 10.b4. At top level, this comes up about 13% of the time.
  15. 10…Ne7 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Nihal Sarin play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Nihal Sarin's most common line is 3…Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 h6 6.h3 d6 7.Na4 Bb6 8.a3 Bd7 9.O-O O-O 10.b4 Ne7. At top level it comes up about 13% of the time.
Is this Nihal Sarin's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
54 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,199. Nihal Sarin scored 59% 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 Nihal Sarin?
GM Nihal Sarin was ranked number 4 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,365 when this course was built.