Giuoco Pianissimo – Pinning with 8.Bg5
With early castling and 8.Bg5 White forces Black to free himself with ...h6 and ...g5. The ...g4 advance chases the f3-knight but leaves f5 weak: the white knight goes to h4, ready to jump to f5.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 O-O 7.Re1 a5 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Ba7 11.Na3 g4 12.Nh4 Nh5
Move by move
- 1.e4 – Occupies the centre and frees the queen and the f1-bishop, which in the Italian Game goes to c4 to aim at the weak f7 point.
- 1...e5 – Black contests the centre at once: the e5 pawn controls d4 and f4 and opens the diagonal for the f8-bishop and the queen.
- 2.Nf3 – Development with an attack: the knight hits the e5 pawn, controls d4 and prepares quick kingside castling.
- 2...Nc6 – Defends e5 while developing and adds control of d4, the square White wants for a pawn.
- 3.Bc4 – The Italian Game move: the bishop aims at f7, defended only by the king, and controls d5, making ...d5 harder to achieve.
- 3...Bc5 – The Giuoco Piano: Black replies symmetrically, aiming at f2 and controlling d4 to hinder the d2-d4 advance.
- 4.d3 – The Giuoco Pianissimo: White protects e4 and postpones the central fight; d3-d4 will come later, after c3 and full development.
- 4...Nf6 – Black develops the knight and attacks e4, now protected by d3; he prepares kingside castling.
- 5.O-O – White castles before c3: he keeps open the choice between c3, a4 or Nc3 depending on Black's reply.
- 5...d6 – Black supports e5 and opens the c8-bishop, with the same solid structure as the other Pianissimo lines.
- 6.c3 – White prepares d4 and the bishop's retreat to b3 or c2; we are back in typical Pianissimo positions.
- 6...O-O – Black castles and completes kingside development; the position is closed and neither side is in a hurry to break in the centre.
- 7.Re1 – With both kings castled, the rook goes to e1 to defend e4: this is the prelude to the Nbd2-f1-g3 manoeuvre, which brings the knight towards f5.
- 7...a5 – Black gains space and prepares ...a4 or ...Ba7; he holds b4 and prevents b2-b4 with tempo on the bishop.
- 8.Bg5 – The bishop pins the f6-knight to the d8-queen and increases the control of d5; it forces Black to decide whether to weaken the castled position with ...h6 and ...g5.
- 8...h6 – Black immediately asks the bishop to decide: exchange on f6 or keep the pin from h4.
- 9.Bh4 – White keeps the pin: to free himself Black will have to push ...g5, weakening the squares around his king.
- 9...g5 – Black breaks the pin and gains kingside space, but creates holes on f5 and h5 that White's knights can use.
- 10.Bg3 – The bishop retreats to g3, where it defends f2 and h2 and presses on the e5 pawn.
- 10...Ba7 – The bishop takes shelter on a7, out of reach of d4 and b4, keeping the diagonal towards f2.
- 11.Na3 – The knight develops towards c2, from where it can reach e3 and aim at the weak f5 and g4 squares.
- 11...g4 – Black continues the advance and chases the f3-knight, but his pawns leave weak squares behind them.
- 12.Nh4 – The knight goes to h4, ready to jump into f5, a square weakened by the ...g5-g4 advance.
- 12...Nh5 – The black knight attacks the g3-bishop and controls f4; Black wants to trade off the bishop that defends the white king.
How to exploit the position
Black has gained space with ...g5-g4 but weakened his castle; White has pieces ready to occupy the weak squares.
- Nf5: the h4-knight occupies the weakened square; if ...Bxf5 exf5, White opens the c4-bishop's diagonal towards f7.
- Nc2 and Ne3: the second knight attacks the g4 pawn and controls f5 and d5.
- h3 to open lines against the g4 pawn: after hxg4 the black king has less protection.
- If Black exchanges with ...Nxg3, hxg3 strengthens f4 and h4 and opens the h-file; f2 stays protected by the king.
Master tips
Advanced pawns leave empty squares behind
When Black pushes ...g5 and ...g4, f5 and h5 are no longer controlled by pawns: that is where your knights go.