Italian - The Modern 5.Nc3

As theory keeps on expanding it becomes harder and harder to come up with new tries. But, in recent years it seems 5.Nc3 has caught attention in the Italian. I think many of us have played like this at the start of our chess career. After that, you might have regarded 5.Nc3 as an amateur move. Wrongly so!
(1) We are developing a piece.
(2) We are stopping a potential d7-d5 break (contrary to 6.c3).
(3) If Black castles, Bg5 is an annoying pin.

Kirill Alekseenko has been the most active experimenter with the Italian 5.Nc3 line in recent years. The Russian-born grandmaster, who received a wildcard to the 2020 Candidates (a tournament that famously stretched into 2021), transferred to the Austrian federation in 2023. Since 2022 he has been employing the Nc3 Italian consistently, both over the board and in online events. Even in the recently concluded World Cup, Kirill wasn’t shy about returning to this fresh and flexible idea.

How is this post structured?

Normally, my opening posts focus heavily on theory, but this time I’m taking a different approach:

• First, you’ll get a compact overview of my recommended lines for White. Think of it as a skeleton for your own analysis: I’ve highlighted the most common Black setups, which means not every top engine move is included, but the overview reflects the three main types of positions you’re most likely to face.
• Second, I’ll walk you through Model Games for each of those position types, emphasizing plans and ideas rather than dense, move-by-move analysis.

Kindly let me know what you think of this different approach!

Italian - 3...Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3

Model Games: ...Bxe3 fxe3 with ...d5 exd5

- Alekseenko, Kirill - Pranav, Anand (2022)

- Tari, Aryan - Kantor, Gergely (2022)

- Assaubayeva, Bibissara - Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat (2024)

Model Games: Nxb6 axb6

- Abdusattorov, Nodirbek - Pichot, Alan (2024)

- Sindarov, Javokhir - Piorun, Kacper (2025)

- Nepomniachtchi, Ian - Keymer, Vincent (2024)

Model Games: ...exd4 cxd4

- Slagboom, Leandro - Bakija, Alan (2023)

- Lupulescu, Constantin - Georgiev, Kiril (2008)

Have fun with The Italian 5.Nc3! Please let me know in case you got the chance to try it out in practice :)

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Feel free to reach out to me or use the forum. Insights, questions and suggestions are very welcome!
~LittleSoapBubble