Italian Game for Beginners: What If Black Plays ...d5?
By ChessStep editorial team You have developed your knight and bishop. Castling is next on the plan. Then Black pushes a pawn to d5. If you castle without looking at what that pawn attacks, your bishop on c4 can disappear on the next move. In the position below, 5. exd5 is a straightforward response : White’s e-pawn captures the attacking pawn. After Black’s possible reply 5...Nxd5, White can…
In the Italian Game, after the moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 d5, White's bishop on c4 is under attack. The correct response to this threat is to capture the pawn with exd5. This move captures the attacking pawn and eliminates the threat to the bishop. After the capture, Black can respond with Nxd5, capturing the pawn that was on d5.
Castling is a legal move after this exchange, as neither king nor rook has moved and the king is not under attack. However, it is important to always check if a move answers the immediate threat before making it. In this case, exd5 removes the threat to the bishop and allows for further development of White's pieces.
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