Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc6/3. c3/3...Nf6

Jaenisch counterattack C44 Ponziani opening 3...Nf6 · Jaenisch counterattack 3...Nf6, the Jaenisch counterattack, is Black's most popular retort to the Ponziani and most serious alternative to 3...d5. Nf6 targets White's e4 pawn, taking advantage of the fact that White cannot play Nc3 to defend it. White may continue with 4. d4. This offers Black their choice of central pawns to take (4...Nxe4 or 4...exd4), after which White intends to push their other pawn to gain tempo and recover the pawn. 4. d3 to defend e4 is playable, but leaves White's pawn on c3 looking out of place and allows Black to take the centre with 4...d5. No other reply for White seems credible. History Carl Jaenisch recommended this reply in his 1842 book of analysis.Jaenisch's chess preceptor: a new analysis of the openings of games de Jaenisch C. F. Longman & co. 1847 London https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn52dv&seq=5 Walker George 163-164 (translation of Analyse nouvelle des ouvertures du jeu des échecs de Jaenisch C. F. Gartner 1842) Jaenisch gives the lines 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d4 Nxe4 5. dxe5 (or 5. d5 Nb8 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. Nxe5 Bc5 8. O-O O-O 9. c4 d6 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. Nc3 Nbd7) d6 6. Bf4 dxe5 7. Qxd8+ Nxd8 8. Bxe5 Bc5. Jaenisch discounted 3...d5 on account of 4. Bb5 and the "weakness" of Black's knight on c3. (Modern evaluation doesn't agree with his assessment of 4. Bb5?: Jaenisch seems to have missed, after 4...dxe4 5. Nxe5 to increase pressure on c6, that Black has 5...Qg5!, a double attack on e5 and g2. Today 2...d5 is one of the main ways for confront the Ponziani, and 4. Qa5 is White's most accurate reply). Theory table d4 exd4 e5 Nd5 Qb3 Nb6 cxd4 d6 Jaenisch counterattack + ... Nxe4 d5 Ne7 Nxe5 Ng6 Nxg6 hxg6 + ... ... ... Nb8 Nxe5 Bd6 Qd4 O-O Qxe4 Bxe5 Be2 Re8 Qd3 d6 Be3 Na6 Kasparov Gary Keene Raymond 1986 First published 1982 Batsford Chess Openings London B.T.Batsford Ltd. 0 7134 2114 2 4th 299-300 ... ... ... Bc5 dxc6 Bxf2+ Ke2 Bb6 Qd5 Nf2 cxb7 Bxb7 Qxb7 Nxh1 Vukovic gambit Bc4 Nxe4 Bd5 Nf6 Bxc6 dxc6 Neumann gambit - References See also Ponziani Opening Play the Ponziani Taylor Dave Hayward Keith 2010 Everyman Chess London 1 8574 4620 8