An Italian player who travelled to France, England and Spain, Greco wrote down short, sparkling games full of traps and attacks. His collection was copied and printed for centuries and taught generations how to attack a king that stays in the centre.
Greco was one of the first players to earn a living from chess, playing wealthy patrons across Europe in the early 1600s. Little is known about his life, but his manuscripts survived — and they were among the most influential chess writing ever produced.
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Lessons in attack
Many of Greco’s games were probably composed or polished as teaching examples. They show the same ideas again and again: rapid development, opening lines towards the enemy king, and sacrifices against a king that has not castled. Several traps he recorded in the Italian Game still claim victims online every day.
Did you know?
♞Fact #1Tap to revealGreco’s games were reprinted for over 300 years.
♝Fact #2Tap to revealA standard mating pattern with bishop and rook or queen is called Greco’s Mate.
Three lessons from Greco for your own games
1Develop quickly and castle early
2Punish a king left in the centre
3Learn the classic traps — both sides of them
Gioachino Greco’s games
Watch the featured game replay itself, or pick any game below. Every game opens move by move with engine analysis.