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Italian Game · As Black · updated October 2026

Play against the Italian Game like Teimour Radjabov

A repertoire against the Italian Game built from 30 of Teimour Radjabov's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Teimour Radjabov chose most often. Where Teimour Radjabov 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 Teimour Radjabov or Chess.com.

  • Teimour Radjabov was #29 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,237) and scored 65% against opponents averaging 2,957 in these games.
  • You play Teimour Radjabov's own move in 10 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#29

Chess.com

Rating

3,237

Games

30

in this opening

Score

65%

in these games

Opponents

2,957

average rating

More about Teimour Radjabov

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 · 19% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Nc3 d6 7.a4 a6 8.Re1 Na5

  2. Line 2 · 19% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Nc3 d6 7.a4 a6 8.h3 Na5

  3. Line 3 · 15% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Ne4 7.Nxd4 Bc5 8.Be3 O-O 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc5 Nxc5 11.Bxc6 Rb8 12.Qxd5 Qe7 13.O-O Rxb2 14.Nc3 Rxc2 15.Qd4 Ne6 16.Qe3 Rd8

  4. Line 4 · 14% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Na5 8.Ba2 c5 9.Nc3 Be6 10.Bg5 Nc6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nd5 g6 13.Qd2 Nd4

  5. Line 5 · 9% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.Nc3 Na5 8.a4 Nxc4 9.dxc4 c6 10.b3 h6

  6. Line 6 · 9% at top level

    3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Na5 8.Ba2 c5 9.Bg5 Nc6

  7. Line 7 · 5% 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

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

Teimour Radjabov'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 O-O 6.Nc3 d6 7.a4 a6 8.Re1 Na5.

  1. 3…Nf6 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 3…Nf6 in 20 games, scoring 65%.
  2. 4.d3 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 4.d3. At top level, this comes up about 75% of the time.
  3. 4…Be7 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 4…Be7 in 8 games, scoring 75%.
  4. 5.O-O Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 5.O-O.
  5. 5…O-O Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 5…O-O in 8 games, scoring 75%.
  6. 6.Nc3 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 6.Nc3. At top level, this comes up about 38% of the time.
  7. 6…d6 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 6…d6 in 4 games, scoring 75%.
  8. 7.a4 Reply · Teimour Radjabov's games A common reply here is 7.a4.
  9. 7…a6 Your move · Teimour Radjabov's games Teimour Radjabov played 7…a6 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. At top level, this comes up about 19% of the time.
  11. 8…Na5 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Teimour Radjabov play against the Italian Game?
After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, Teimour Radjabov's most common line is 3…Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Nc3 d6 7.a4 a6 8.Re1 Na5. At top level it comes up about 19% of the time.
Is this Teimour Radjabov's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Teimour Radjabov's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this Italian Game course based on?
30 of Teimour Radjabov's Chess.com blitz games in the Italian Game as Black, against opponents with an average rating of 2,957. Teimour Radjabov scored 65% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
7 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 Teimour Radjabov?
GM Teimour Radjabov was ranked number 29 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,237 when this course was built.