The Ponziani Opening (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3) exists just off the beaten path of the more popular Italian Game. Instead of playing 3. Bc4 and then 4. c3 (such as in the Italian Game), the Ponziani player makes an immediate grab for central space by playing 3. c3 with the idea of 4. d4. Of course playing a slower pawn move instead of developing another piece on white’s third move affects the popularity of the opening. For this reason, The Ponziani Opening isn’t very fashionable but that should not discourage you from occasionally exploring its unique possibilities. Attacking players will find lots of opportunities to strike as the Ponziani produces imbalances that definitely favor the better tactical player.
With the white pieces I regularly employ The Ponziani in games at rook odds. In a recent game, I started without my king’s rook and followed the moves of an old favorite. In fact, let’s look at the classic game first:
[Event “Augsburg”]
[Site “Augsburg GER”]
[Date “1899.??.??”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “?”]
[Result “1-0”]
[White “Ludwig Ernst Bachmann”]
[Black “Kunstmann”]
[ECO “C44”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “23”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d4 Nxe4 5. d5 Ne7 6. Nxe5 Ng6
7. Bd3 Nxf2 8. Bxg6 Nxd1 9. Bxf7+ Ke7 10. Bg5+ Kd6 11. Nc4+
Kc5 12. Nba3 1-0
In my own game, I had to begin improvising after the tricky 7… Qh4. My opponent put me under pressure but years of tactical training pays off and I found the winning moves.
[Event “Chess Class”]
[Site “San Mateo, California “]
[Date “2023.01.18”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Chris Torres”]
[WhiteElo “”]
[Black “Nayan”]
[BlackElo “”]
[Result “1-0”]
[FEN “rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBN1 w Qkq -“]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 Ng6 7.Bd3 Qh4 8.Ng4 Bc5
9.Qe2 O-O 10.Qxe4 f5 11.Qc4 fxg4 12.d6+ Kh8 13.Qxc5 Qxh2 14.Be3 Qh1+ 15.Kd2 Nh4
16.Na3 Qxa1 17.Qh5 Qxb2+ 18.Nc2 h6 19.Bd4 Nxg2 20.Qxh6+ Kg8 21.Qxg7#
1-0
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu stated that “Attack is the secret of defense…”. Against the Ponziani, the best defense is indeed a good offense which is why, with the black pieces, I prefer meeting the Ponziani head on with bold play. Below I analyzed a recent training game against a student. I have included enough notes on 3… d5 for students to utilize this approach against the Ponziani Opening. I recommend pulling out your chessboard and playing through the game and variations so that next time your opponent springs a Ponziani, you are prepared.
[Event “Training Game”]
[Site “Online”]
[Date “2024.04.08”]
[Round “?”]
[White “David”]
[Black “Chris Torres”]
[Result “0-1”]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.Bb5 dxe4 5.Nxe5 Qg5 6.Qa4 Qxg2 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.Qxc6+ Kd8 9.Nxf7+ Ke7 10.Qxc7+ Ke8 11.Rf1 Bh3 12.Ke2 Qxf1+ 13.Ke3 Qe1+ 14.Kd4 Rc8 {0-1}
