Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. c3/3...d5/4. Qa4

Ponziani opening C44 Ponziani opening → 3...d5 4...Bb7 · Caro gambit 4...f6 · Steinitz defence 4...Nf6 · Leonhardt defence 4. Qa4 By pinning Black's knight on c6 to their king, 4. Qa4 undefends Black's e pawn and threatens Nxe5. Were Black to ignore the threat and counterattack instead, 4... dxe4? 5. Nxe5! (threatens Nxc6 bxc6 Qxc6 winning at least one pawn) Qd6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Qxe4+ wins a pawn. Therefore Black must protect the e5 pawn. Their choices are: 4...Bd7, the Caro gambit, eliminates the pin. This protects the e pawn but, by obstructing queen's vision of d5, gives up Black's d pawn. After 5. exd5 Nd4 (discovered attack on the queen) 6. Qd1only Nxf3+ 7. Qxf3 Black has equalised. 4...f6, the Steinitz variation, defends e5 directly. The traditional, most Ponziani-ist reply is 5. Bb5, threatening to take the pinned knight, where the natural 5...Bd7? to interrupt the pin is greatly in White's favour. (5. Bb5 Bd7? 6. exd5 Nce7 7. Bxd7+ Qxd7 8. Qxd7+ Kxd7 ±) After 5...Nge7 to defend the knight however, 6. exd5 Qxd5 7. d4 and the position is unclear. The modern move, advised by the engine and played by top players like Nepomniachtchi, is 5. d3, where White gives up on playing d4 in one move and admits that c3 looks a little disjointed now. 4...Nf6, the Leonhardt variation, allows 5. Nxe5. Although this appears add an attacker on to White's e4 pawn, it doesn't work out that way (5. Nxe5 Nxe4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Qxc6+ Bd7 8. Qxd5 Nf6 and White is up two pawns). Instead, it acts to over-protect d5, allowing ...Bd6 and preparing to castle. 4...Nf6 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 and 7. Qxc6+? fails to 7...Bd7, where in this line White doesn't have 8. Qxd5. Game may continue 7. d3 (e4 was hanging) O-O or 7. d4 Nxe4 8. Qxc6+ Bd7 9. Qxd5 O-O, where White is still up two pawns but Black has castled and has compensation in development. 4...Qd6 is an alternative to protect the pawn. One idea for Black's is that this allows Bd7, breaking the pin, without obstructing their queen's vision of d5. After 5. d4 Bd7 6. exd5? leads to a much better (for Black) version of the Caro gambit. 6...Nxd4 (discovered attack) 7. Qd1 Nxf3+ 8. Qxf3 O-O-O. 5. Bb5 and 5. d4 (engine's preference) have both been played. 4...Qd6 is uncommon and doesn't have a name, but was played in 1857 in Loewenthal vs Barnes,Lowenthal v Barnes, 1857. Chesstempo.com so might be called the Barnes variation. Theory table Caro gambit 4...Bd7 5. exd5 Nd4 6. Qd1 Nxf3+ 7.Qxf3 f5 (Nf6) 8. d4 e4 9. Qd1 Bd6 10. c4 b6 11. Nc3 Nf6 =/∞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 4... f6 5. Bb5 (d3) Nge7 6. exd5 Qxd5 7. d4 e4 8. c4 Qd7 9. d5 exf3 10. gxf3 Qh3 11. dxc4 b6 ∞ Leonhardt variation 4... Nf6 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. d4 Nxe4 8. Qxc6+ Bd7 9. Qxd5 O-O = References See also Ponziani Opening Play the Ponziani Taylor Dave Hayward Keith 2010 Everyman Chess London 1 8574 4620 8