Ponziani Opening
The Ponziani Opening is a chess opening that begins with the moves:
It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been discussed in literature by 1497. It was advocated by Howard Staunton, generally considered the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, in his 1847 book The Chess-Player's Handbook. For some decades, it was often called "Staunton's Opening" or the "English Knight's Game" as a result. Today, it is usually known by the name of Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani, whose main contribution to the opening was his introduction of the 3...f5 in 1769.
Although it is considered inferior to other third move options such as the Ruy Lopez, it has a reputation for leading to and play. It is typically only used as a surprise weapon by modern players. The move c3 supports a later d4 push and also enables early development of the queen, with White frequently playing Qa4. Black's usual response is either 3...Nf6 or 3...d5. Magnus Carlsen used it for a victory in 2013. Ponziani's countergambit 3...f5!? was successfully played in a grandmaster game between Hikaru Nakamura and Julio Becerra Rivero at the US Championship 2007.
History
The Ponziani is one of the oldest known openings, having been first discussed in chess literature by no later than 1497. It was mentioned in both of the earliest chess treatises: the Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez con ci Iuegos de Partido by Lucena and the Göttingen manuscript. Today the opening bears the surname of Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani. Although Ponziani did analyze the opening in 1769, his principal contribution was the introduction of the 3...f5!? Later the opening was favored by Howard Staunton, who in The Chess-Player's Handbook called it "so full of interest and variety, that its omission in many of the leading works on the game is truly unaccountable.... it deserves, and, if we mistake not, will yet attain a higher place in the category of legitimate openings than has hitherto been assigned to it."Nomenclature
Staunton cumbersomely referred to the opening as "The Queen's Bishop's Pawn Game in the King's Knight's Opening", as did George H. D. Gossip in The Chess Player's Manual. Napoleon Marache, one of the leading American players, similarly called it the "Queen's Bishop's Pawn Game" in his 1866 manual. In their treatise Chess Openings Ancient and Modern, E. Freeborough and the Reverend C.E. Ranken called it "Staunton's Opening". In an appendix to later editions of Staunton's work, R.F. Green, editor of British Chess Magazine, also called it "Staunton's Opening", directing those seeking a definition of "Ponziani's Game" to the former name. Green referred to 3...f5 as "Ponziani's Counter Gambit". Chess historian H. J. R. Murray in his celebrated 1913 work A History of Chess called the opening simply the "Staunton", explaining that he was using "the ordinary names of the Openings as used by English players of the present day". James Mason in his treatise The Art of Chess referred to the opening as the "Ponziani–Staunton Attack". The famous German Handbuch des Schachspiels, which went through eight editions between 1843 and 1916, called it the "Englisches Springerspiel". The Reverend E.E. Cunnington in The Modern Chess Primer referred to it as the "Ponziani Opening ".Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Champion, in his 1895 treatise The Modern Chess Instructor, called the opening the "Ponziani Opening", as did his successor, Emanuel Lasker, in Lasker's Manual of Chess. Similarly, Frank Marshall in Chess Openings, the authors of Modern Chess Openings, and Siegbert Tarrasch in The Game of Chess called it "Ponziani's Opening". William Cook in The Chess Players' Compendium called it "Ponziani's Game", while Francis Joseph Lee and Gossip in The Complete Chess – Guide called it "Ponziani's Knight's Game". Contemporary authors likewise call it the "Ponziani Opening", "Ponziani's Opening", or simply the "Ponziani".
Overview
The Ponziani is rarely played today except as a surprise weapon, because Black has the pleasant choice between easily and attempting to obtain an advantage with sharper play. White's third move prepares to build a powerful with 4.d4, a logical objective also seen in the more popular Ruy Lopez and Giuoco Piano. However, 3.c3 is somewhat premature because the move: 1) takes away the most natural square for White's, 2) temporarily creates a on d3, and 3) a pawn rather than a piece, leaving White behind in development and not well placed to meet a counterattack in the. Moreover, unlike in the Giuoco Piano, where White's d4 advance attacks Black's on c5, in the Ponziani d4 will not gain a. On the positive side, the move 3.c3 creates a second diagonal for the white queen.As early as 1904, Marshall wrote that, "There is no point in White's third move unless Black plays badly.... White practically surrenders the privilege of the first move." More recently, Graham Burgess called the Ponziani "a relic from a bygone age, popular neither at top level nor at club level". Bruce Pandolfini has said,
Curiously, 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, and it remains to be seen whether the Ponziani is an opening of the past or of the future.
In Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur, Max Euwe and Walter Meiden wrote, "What should one do with this opening? It is no opening for beginners, because tactics predominate in the play. There are no simple strategic principles to govern the general lines in this opening."
Jaenisch Variation: 3...Nf6
3...Nf6 is considered Black's safest course and probably a deterrent to possible Ponziani adopters because positions arise ranging from the highly chaotic to dull passiveness. White's usual response is 4.d4, consistent with the idea behind 3.c3. Black's most common response is then 4...Nxe4, though 4...exd4 is a frequent alternative. After 5.d5, Black must move the knight to safety with 5...Ne7 or 5...Nb8, or may sacrifice it with 5...Bc5.Traditional line: 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7
5...Ne7 often continues 6.Nxe5 Ng6, and now either 7.Qd4 Qf6 8.Qxe4 Qxe5, a relatively new try 7.Qf3, or 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qe2 Qe7 9.Bf4 d6 10.Na3 Rh5 11.0-0-0 Rf5 leads to equality according to MCO-15.Quiet draws are common in this line, though there are reasonable winning chances for White in the type of endgame that emerges. An example draw in the 7.Qd4 line is Medvedev vs. Milgram, ICCF 1991.
Retreat line: 5...Nb8
5...Nb8 is also ; the most common continuation is 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.Qd4, after which Black has the options of retreating the threatened knight with 7...Nf6 or 7...Nd6, counterattacking with 7...d6 or 7...f6, or defending the knight with 7...f5.Vuković Gambit: 5...Bc5
5...Bc5, which has been referred to as the Vuković Gambit or Fraser Defense, is an extremely sharp line where Black allows White to capture the threatened knight. The main line continues 6.dxc6 Bxf2+ 7.Ke2 Bb6 8.Qd5 Nf2 9.Rg1 0-0 10.cxb7 Bxb7 11.Qxb7 Qf6, leaving Black down a knight and bishop for two pawns, including a on e5. Black plans to later play...e4 and White's knight on f3. A possible continuation is 12.Na3 e4 13.Nc4 Rab8 14.Qd5 exf3+ 15.gxf3 Rfe8+ 16.Kd2 Ne4+ 17.fxe4 Bxg1=.9.cxb7 Bxb7 10.Qxb7 Nxh1, returning material, is also seen. 7...bxc6 is also possible for Black, typically continuing 8.Qa4 f5 9.Nbd2.
Other lines
- 4...exd4 leads to a position that can also arise in the Göring Gambit, and tends to lead to more double-edged play than after 4...Nxe4. White's usual next move is 5.e5, with the typical continuations 5...Nd5 6.cxd4 and 5...Ne4 6.Qe2.
- 4.d3 most often continues 4...d5 followed by 5.Nbd2 or 5.Qc2. The line is also frequently reached via 3...d5 4.d3 Nf6. The move d3 locks White's king's bishop inside a, so developing it to e2 is typical.
3...d5
3...d5 is an aggressive response, striking back in the center. Unlike in some other openings featuring an early 3...d5, such as the Scandinavian Defense, after 4.exd5 Qxd5, White cannot play Nc3, winning a tempo on Black's queen, as White's pawn occupies c3. Instead, the usual move is 4.Qa4, where White indirectly threatens to win Black's e-pawn by pinning the knight. Black must choose either to defend the e-pawn with 4...f6 or 4...Qd6, or be prepared to sacrifice a pawn with either 4...Bd7 or 4...Nf6.Steinitz Variation: 4...f6
4...f6 simply defends Black's central pawn on e5. It is considered and best, but unnatural because it stops Black's knight from developing to f6. The line can continue 5.Bb5 Nge7 6.exd5 Qxd5 with either 7.d4, followed by 7...Bd7, 7...Bg4, or 7...e4, or 7.0-0, followed by 7...Bd7 or 7...e4. It is regarded as leading to equal positions.Caro Gambit: 4...Bd7
4...Bd7 intends 5...Nd4, a on White queen and threatening to double White's pawns after 6...Nxf3 7.gxf3. However, White can parry the attack with 6.Qd1. After 5.exd5 Nd4 6.Qd1 Nxf3 7.Qxf3 Nf6, Black has thwarted White's initial attack but is down a pawn with an unclear position. Max Euwe considered it unconvincing.Leonhardt Variation: 4...Nf6
After 4...Nf6, White can gain material with 5.Nxe5, with theory giving 5...Bd6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.d3 0-0 8.Be2 Re8 where Black has compensation for the pawn.Spanish Variation: 4.Bb5
4.Bb5 is considered inferior to 4.Qa4 but the game becomes sharp with chances for both sides, although Black may emerge with advantage after 4...dxe4! 5.Nxe5 Qg5! 6.Qa4 Qxg2, where White may continue with 7.Bxc6+ or 7.Rf1.Another common option for Black is 5...Qd5, which typically continues 6.Qa4 Ne7 7.f4 exf3 8.Nxf3. Black also has the alternative moves 7...Be6 and 7...Bd7.
Other lines
- After 4.Qa4, another option is 4...Qd6, protecting e5 without weakening the pawn structure. Batsford Chess Openings 2 gives the move an exclamation mark but does not mention the reply 5.d4, the main move in the later Nunn's Chess Openings.
- After 4.Qa4, 4...dxe4 typically continues 5.Nxe5 Qd5 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bc4 Qd6.
Ponziani Countergambit: 3...f5
3...f5 is an aggressive Black response originally suggested by the 18th-century Italian writer, Ponziani. In 1951, Boris Spassky chose this countergambit against Yakov Estrin.The most common continuation is for White to strike in the center with 4.d4. This is typically followed by 4...fxe4 5.Nxe5, after which Black may play 5...Qf6, 5...Nf6, or 5...Nxe5. White may also accept Black's pawn with 4.exf5, with the typical continuation 4...e4 5.Nd4 Nf6.
The countergambit is considered better for White after 4.d4 fxe4 5.Nxe5 Qf6 6.Ng4 Qg6 7.Bf4 or 5...Nf6 6.Bg5.
Other lines
- 3...Nge7 is the unusual Kmoch Variation, advocated by Hans Kmoch. According to Reuben Fine, citing analysis by Kmoch, Black equalizes after 4.d4 exd4 5.Bc4 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.0-0 Be7 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.cxd4 Be6. The variation has also been attributed to Richard Réti due to him having tried it against Savielly Tartakower, though he lost. Recent analysis gives White the edge, i.e. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nge7 4.Bc4 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 and now either 6.0-0 or 6.Qb3 lead to a White advantage. Also playable for White is 4.Bb5 which transposes to a line of the Cozio Defense to the Ruy Lopez.
- 3...d6 reinforces the e5-pawn and intends to show that c3 was unnecessary. It is considered passive, however, and does not present White with any problems. White's most common next move is 4.d4, followed by 4.Bb5, which transposes to the Ruy Lopez, and 4.Bc4, which transposes to the Italian Game.
- 3...Be7 is another passive variation that White typically responds to with 4.d4.
- 3...Bc5 is typically met with 4.d4 or 4.b4, both of which force the bishop to move again.
Illustrative games
Here are two games illustrating the wild tactical play that often develops in the 3...d5 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Ne7 line:- Mikhail Chigorin vs. George H.D. Gossip, New York 1889:
- S. Kaouras vs. R. Vorlop, e-mail 2003: