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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Nikolas Theodorou

A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 31 of Nikolas Theodorou's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Nikolas Theodorou chose most often. Where Nikolas Theodorou 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 Nikolas Theodorou or Chess.com.

  • Nikolas Theodorou was #37 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,211) and scored 66% against opponents averaging 3,062 in these games.
  • You play Nikolas Theodorou's own move in 13 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#37

Chess.com

Rating

3,211

Games

31

in this opening

Score

66%

in these games

Opponents

3,062

average rating

More about Nikolas Theodorou

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 13 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 15% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.a4 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5

  2. Line 2 · 11% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.c3 Bg4

  3. Line 3 · 11% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.d4 Nb6 9.Bb5 O-O 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.dxe5 Qxd1

  4. Line 4 · 11% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.h3 Nb6

  5. Line 5 · 7% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.a4 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Qd7

  6. Line 6 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Bd2 O-O

  7. Line 7 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.Bb3 Bg4

  8. Line 8 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.Nc3 Be6

  9. Line 9 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.d4 Nb6 9.Bb5 O-O 10.dxe5 Nxe5

  10. Line 10 · 6% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.a4 O-O

  11. Line 11 · 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

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3 cxb5 9.Qxa8 Qc7 10.Qf3 Nc6 11.c3 Bg4 12.Qe3 h6

  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 Nf4 11.Nc3 Nxd3 12.cxd3 O-O 13.Ne4 c5 14.Qc2 Nc6 15.h3 Nb4

  14. Line 14 · 2% 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 Nf4 11.Re1 Nxd3 12.cxd3 O-O

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

Nikolas Theodorou's main line against the Italian Game, move by move

The most common line at top level: 3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.a4 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5.

  1. 3…Nf6 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 3…Nf6 in 24 games, scoring 65%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 4.d3. At top level, this comes up about 83% of the time.
  3. 4…d5 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 4…d5 in 15 games, scoring 70%.
  4. 5.exd5 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 5.exd5.
  5. 5…Nxd5 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 5…Nxd5 in 15 games, scoring 70%.
  6. 6.O-O Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 6.O-O.
  7. 6…Be7 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 6…Be7 in 15 games, scoring 70%.
  8. 7.Re1 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 7.Re1. At top level, this comes up about 72% of the time.
  9. 7…f6 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 7…f6 in 13 games, scoring 73%.
  10. 8.a4 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 8.a4. At top level, this comes up about 22% of the time.
  11. 8…Bg4 Your move · Nikolas Theodorou's games Nikolas Theodorou played 8…Bg4 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  12. 9.h3 Reply · Nikolas Theodorou's games A common reply here is 9.h3. At top level, this comes up about 15% of the time.
  13. 9…Bh5 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Nikolas Theodorou play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Nikolas Theodorou's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 f6 8.a4 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5. At top level it comes up about 15% of the time.
Is this Nikolas Theodorou's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nikolas Theodorou's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
31 of Nikolas Theodorou's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 3,062. Nikolas Theodorou scored 66% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
14 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 Nikolas Theodorou?
GM Nikolas Theodorou was ranked number 37 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,211 when this course was built.