The Spicy Italian Game by FM Viktor Neustroev Sep 12, 2025 + PGN

Dominate The Chess Board
and Style On Black With This
“Pin and Win” Italian Game

Tired of lifeless symmetry after 1.e4 e5? Add sizzle to your games using this classic opening with a unique twist! It’s a newbie-crusher at the club level, and a bulldozer at the super-GM level. Now it’s your turn to cook with The Spicy Italian Game and rack up wins with White!

Imagine this:

You open with 1.e4. Black walls up with 1…e5, aiming for a slow grind.

But this time, the game doesn’t lock up.

You take up aggressive squares with 2.Nf3 and 3.Bc4 — principled moves even a beginner can understand.

Then you set your pawns on c3 and d3. So they can blow open the center when the time is right.

By move 8, a cut-and-thrust middlegame is already brewing — and your pieces are in prime position to strike first!

When you play the Italian Game,
every piece placement just
makes sense!

Black starts to squirm.

They lash out, trying to push your pieces off their doorstep… only to trigger a sacrifice that strips their king naked!

When your pieces coordinate,
thunderbolts like Nxg5 come
almost as a matter of course!

Then the barrage of checks begin. Black can do nothing but stumble closer to your pieces.

Before move 30, their king sits isolated on h3, staring down the barrel of an unstoppable mate.

Stripped of defenders, you go
to town and hound the king
until checkmate

If this kind of chess excites you, then you’ll love The Spicy Italian Game by FIDE Master Viktor Neustroev.

Neustroev is a 3-time junior champion of Novosibirsk, Russia turned hit Chessable author. His specialty — teaching the skills that actually win chess games.

And in this repertoire for White, he doesn’t just teach you variations. He also…