Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit: what should White play?

In the Italian Game: Blackburne-Kostić Gambit (ECO C50), White should play Nxd4 to liquidate Black's active knight immediately and secure a solid positional plus. Capturing on d4 eliminates Black's tactical tricks while granting White an engine evaluation of +1.28. It is the premier choice by recorded games and engine preference, allowing White to consolidate a lead in development.

The Refutation via Nxd4

Choosing Nxd4 directly addresses Black's premature knight sortie. Out of 7,028,032 games recorded at this position, this capture accounts for 67.2% of games (4.72M recorded), yielding White a 56.6% score. Rather than falling into Black's trappy lines on the kingside, White trades pieces and proceeds with natural development, as illustrated in the engine continuation Nxd4 exd4 O-O Nf6 Re1 d6. Black is left with a doubled pawn on d4 while White secures rapid king safety.

Development Alternatives with O-O and c3

Players seeking to avoid an immediate capture on d4 often prefer c3, which appears in 18.3% of games (1.28M recorded) with an evaluation of +0.49 and a 54.8% score. The engine continuation runs c3 Nxf3+ Qxf3 Nf6 d4 d6, allowing White to develop the queen on f3 and claim central space. Alternatively, castling immediately via O-O is chosen in 14.3% of games (1.01M recorded), scoring 57.0% with an evaluation of +0.97, leading into O-O Nxf3+ Qxf3 Qf6 Qe2 Bc5.

Minor Sidelines

Quiet moves like a4 (+0.68) and h3 (+0.48) represent minor alternatives. The line h3 Nxf3+ Qxf3 Qf6 Qg3 d6 represents only 0.2% of games (13K recorded) and scores 52.6%. However, these slower choices give Black time to contest key squares, making Nxd4 the cleanest path to an advantage.