Se avessi studiato di più, avrei vinto la partita a scacchi.

If I had studied more, I would have won the chess game.

Breakdown of Se avessi studiato di più, avrei vinto la partita a scacchi.

• io: I
• se: if
• studiare: to study
• di più: more
• vincere: to win
• la partita a scacchi: the chess game

Questions & Answers about Se avessi studiato di più, avrei vinto la partita a scacchi.

Why is avessi studiato used here instead of the simpler studiassi or avevo studiato?

avessi studiato is the congiuntivo trapassato (past perfect subjunctive), which expresses an unreal past condition.

• studiassi is the imperfect subjunctive (congiuntivo imperfetto), used for present or future hypothetical situations, not past ones.
• avevo studiato is the imperfect indicative, which states a real past fact, not a hypothetical one.

In an “if … then ” clause describing something that didn’t happen, Italian uses congiuntivo trapassato.

How do you form the congiuntivo trapassato like avessi studiato?

You combine:

• the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary (avere or essere), e.g. avessi or fossi;
• • the past participle of the main verb, e.g. studiato or vinto.

Example:
• io avessi studiato
• tu fossi arrivato

What about avrei vinto? What tense is that and when do you use it?

avrei vinto is the condizionale passato (past conditional). It expresses the result of an unreal past condition.
Formation:

• the present conditional of the auxiliary (avrei / sarei)
• • the past participle of the main verb (vinto).

It corresponds to English “would have won.”

Can you invert the order of the two clauses and what changes?

Yes. You can say:
Avrei vinto la partita a scacchi se avessi studiato di più.

• No comma is needed when the se-clause follows the main clause.
• The meaning remains the same.

What role does di più play in this sentence?

di più means “more” or “to a greater extent.” It’s an adverbial phrase modifying studiato, adding the idea that additional study was required.

Why is there an a in partita a scacchi?

In Italian, you use a with games and sports:
• giocare a calcio, a tennis, a scacchi
And a match of a game also takes a:
• una partita a scacchi = a chess match.

Why is the subject pronoun io missing before avessi studiato and avrei vinto?

Italian often drops subject pronouns because verb endings already indicate the person. Here:
• avessi → 1st person singular
• avrei → 1st person singular
Adding io is not wrong, but it’s redundant unless you want emphasis.