Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. c3

Ponziani Opening rd bd qd kd bd nd rd pd pd pd pd pd pd pd nd pd pl pl nl pl pl pl pl pl pl rl nl bl ql kl bl rl 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 C44 King's Pawn Game 3...Nf6 · Jaenisch Counterattack 3...d5 3...f5!? · Ponziani Countergambit. 3. c3 · Ponziani opening 3. c3 is the Ponziani opening. White announces they are determined to achieve 4. d4. It also opens up a diagonal allowing the queen to reach a4. The cost of c3, supporting d4, is that Nc3 is unavailable. By not having played Nc3, White's e4 pawn is loose. The strongest replies for Black therefore are those that target e4: either 3...Nf6 or 3...d5. After a move like 3...d6 or 3...Bc5? (a common amateur mistake), White plays 4. d4 and secures their two pawn centre with smug satisfaction. After 3...Nf6, the Jaenisch Counterattack, White typically plays 4. d4 anyway and Black typically takes one or the other central pawn. The resulting games can have very different flavours, from quiet and drawish where White has a small space advantage, to the razor-sharp Vuković Gambit line which quickly devolves into turmoil. With 3...d5, Black threatens dxe4, taking advantage of the fact that, if 4. exd5 Qxd5, Nc3 is not an option to chase the queen away. White responds 4. Qa4, pinning Black's knight, and the game diverges depending on how Black chooses to defend their e5 pawn. The final way Black has to target e4 is 3...f5!?, the Ponziani Countergambit. An aggressive sideline of different character, it is thought to give White an advantage if theory is known. Together, these moves targeting e4 cover more than 90% of third moves for Black. A few other sidelines include the above mentioned 3...d6, unusual in master-level play but common at the amateur level; 3...Nge7?!, the Réti variation, the point of which apparently being that after 4. d4 exd4 5. cxd4 d5, 6. e5 does not come with tempo on the knight; and 3...Be7?!, which was tried by Oleg Romanishin in the 70s and highlighted in Batsford's as equalising, but which modern engines find suspect and never caught on. History The Ponziani is a very old opening, described in the 15th century. It is a poor relation of the Spanish or Italian games, with many players considering Black to equalise after 3... d5. It has retained some place as a surprise or blitz weapon but is not seen at the highest level of chess. It captured the imagination of 19th century chess master Howard Staunton, who called it "so full of interest and variety, that its omission in many of the leading works on the game is truly unaccountable."The Chess-Player's Handbook Staunton Howard George Bell & Sons 1847 London 182-193 II.IX The Queen's Bishop's Pawn Game in the King's Knight Opening while Morphy and others scoffed. Bruce Pandolfini summarised the credibility of the opening thus: "every great teacher of openings who investigated the Ponziani has concluded that it leads to interesting play and deserves to be played more often. Yet it has never captured the fancy of chessplayers in general."Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps Pandolfini Bruce Simon & Schuster 1989 0 671 65690 2 New York 88-90, 106-111 4. Unusual Openings Theory table 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Caro gambit ...d5 Qa4Bd7 exd5Nd4 Qd1Nxf3+ Qxf3f5 (Nf6) d4e4 Qd1Bd6 c4b6 Nc3Nf6=/∞Kasparov Gary Keene Raymond 1986 First published 1982 Batsford Chess Openings London B.T.Batsford Ltd. 0 7134 2114 2 4th 299-300 Steinitz variation ...... ...f6 Bb5 (d3)Nge7 exd5Qxd5 d4e4 c4Qd7 d5exf3 gxf3Qh3 dxc4b6∞ Leonhardt variation ...... ...Nf6 Nxe5Bd6 Nxc6bxc6 d4Nxe4 Qxc6+Bd7 Qxd5O-O = Jaenisch counterattack ...Nf6 d4exd4 e5Nd5 Qb3Nb6 cxd4d6 ⩲ ...... ...Nxe4 d5Ne7 Nxe5Ng6 Nxg6hxg6 ⩲ ...... ...... ..Nb8 Nxe5Bd6 Qd4O-O Qxe4Bxe5 Be2Re8 Qd3d6 Be3Na6= Vukovic gambit ...... ...... ...Bc5 dxc6Bxf2+ Ke2Bb6 Qd5Nf2 cxb7Bxb7 Qxb7Nxh1 ∞ Ponziani countergambit ...f5 d4fxe4 Nxe5Nf6 Bb5Bd6 Ng4O-O ⩲ ...... ...... ...Qf6 Ng4Qg6 Bf4d6 Ne3Nf6 Na3Be7 Qb3a6 Nac2Nd8⩲ References See also Ponziani Opening Play the Ponziani Taylor Dave Hayward Keith 2010 Everyman Chess London 1 8574 4620 8 External links C44 Ponziani Opening