giuoco

Giuoco is an Italian noun meaning "game" or "play." In modern Italian, the standard spelling is gioco, but the older form giuoco appears in historical usage and in proper names, especially in the realm of chess.

In chess, Giuoco is chiefly encountered in the names Giuoco Piano and Giuoco Pianissimo, two related openings within the Italian Game. Both reflect early Italian chess theory and share the same opening origin, with Piano generally describing a relatively brisk, open approach and Pianissimo signaling a slower, more restrained development. The names convey the perceived character of the play that follows rather than a fixed sequence of moves.

The term’s use is largely literary and historical for chess; outside of chess literature, giuoco simply means "game" in Italian, and the modern spelling gioco is typically preferred in contemporary Italian. The opening names preserve the older orthography and are chiefly of interest to chess historians and players studying classical openings.

Related topics include the broader Italian Game family and the individual lines Giuoco Piano and Giuoco Pianissimo, which have been studied since the 16th and 17th centuries and remain part of classical chess instruction.