Ponziani Opening
Encyclopedia
The Ponziani Opening is a chess opening
that begins with the moves:
It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been discussed in the literature by 1497. It was advocated by Howard Staunton
, generally considered the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, in The Chess-Player's Handbook (1847). 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, in 1769, of the countergambit 3...f5!?
The opening is now considered inferior to 3.Bb5, the Ruy Lopez
, and 3.Bc4, the Italian Game
, and is accordingly rarely seen today at any level of play. Black's main responses are 3...Nf6, leading to quiet play, and 3...d5, leading to sharp play. Ponziani's countergambit 3...f5!? has usually been considered dubious, but was successfully played in the grandmaster game Hikaru Nakamura
vs Julio Becerra Rivero, US Championship 2007.
. 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 countergambit 3...f5!? Later the opening was favored by Howard Staunton
, who in The Chess-Player's Handbook (1847) 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".
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 (1888, American edition 1902). 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 (1889, 1896), 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 the 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 (Fourth Edition c. 1910?) 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" (English Knight's Game). The Reverend E.E. Cunnington in The Modern Chess Primer (Thirteenth Edition 1933) referred to it as the "Ponziani Opening (sometimes called Staunton's)."
Wilhelm Steinitz
, the first World Champion
, in his 1895 treatise The Modern Chess Instructor (Part II), inaccurately 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
(Second Edition 1913), and Siegbert Tarrasch
in The Game of Chess (1931, English translation 1938) called it "Ponziani's Opening". William Cook in The Chess Players' Compendium (Fifth Edition 1910) called it "Ponziani's Game", while Francis Joseph Lee
and Gossip in The Complete Chess – Guide (1903) called it "Ponziani's Knight's Game". Contemporary authors likewise call it the "Ponziani Opening", "Ponziani's Opening", or simply "the Ponziani".
." More recently, Graham Burgess
called the Ponziani "a relic from a bygone age, popular neither at top level nor at club level". It is rarely played today except as a surprise weapon, because Black has the pleasant choice between equalizing easily and attempting to obtain an advantage with sharper play. White's third move prepares to build a powerful center with 4.d4. This is a logical objective, also seen in the more popular Ruy Lopez
and Giuoco Piano
. However, 3.c3 is somewhat premature because (1) it takes away the most natural square for White's queen knight and (2) White, being uncastled
, is not well placed to meet a counterattack in the center. Moreover, unlike in the Giuoco Piano, where White's d4 advance attacks Black's king's
bishop
on c5, in the Ponziani d4 will not gain a tempo. Grandmaster Larry Kaufman has observed that it is not clear to whom the opening should appeal, since White must be prepared for both "boring drawish
play" after 3...Nf6 and "spectacularly exciting lines" after 3...d5. Despite these comments 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."
Black's most aggressive response is 3...d5, striking back in the center. Black players unfamiliar with these lines should be careful as after 4.Qa4 Black must either reinforce the center with 4...f6 (Steinitz Variation) or 4...Qd6, or be prepared to sacrifice a pawn with either 4...Bd7 (Caro Variation) or 4...Nf6 (Leonhardt Variation). If White instead plays 4.Bb5 the game becomes sharp with chances for both sides, although Black may emerge with advantage after 4...dxe4! 5.Nxe5 Qg5.
The Ponziani Countergambit (3...f5) is another aggressive Black response. Positions somewhat resemble those seen in the Latvian Gambit
, but in a more favorable incarnation for Black, since 3.c3 does not aid White's development and blocks his queen knight from developing to that square.
Black's safest course is 3...Nf6 (Jaenisch Variation). Play often continues 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7 (5...Nb8 is also playable) 6.Nxe5 Ng6, and now either 7.Qd4 Qf6 8.Qxe4 Qxe5 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. If black is to play this variation, he must make sure to avoid the notorious trap 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 d6?? when 7. Bb5+! wins material. Black can also play 4...exd4, meeting 5.e5 with either 5...Nd5 or 5...Ne4, leading to more double-edged play than after 4...Nxe4.
The unusual 3...Nge7 (Kmoch Variation) was advocated by International Master 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.
1991 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 Ng6 7.Qd4 Qf6 8.Qxe4 Qxe5 9.Qxe5+ Nxe5 10.Nd2 d6 11.Nc4 Nxc4 12.Bxc4 Be7 13.0-0 0-0 14. Re1 Bf6 15.Be3 Bd7 ½-½
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
–George H.D. Gossip, New York 1889 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 3...Nf6 is the safest response if Black is not well versed in the ensuing complications—as Gossip proves not to be. 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Ne7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.0-0 7.d4! is the main line today. Bd7? 7...e4! 8.Ne1 Bf5 9.f3 leads to equality. 8.d4 e4 9.Nfd2 Ng6? 9...f5! or 9...0-0-0 was better. 10.Bc4 Qa5 11.Qb3 f5? 11...0-0-0! was the best chance. 12.Bf7+ Ke7? 12...Kd8 is forced. 13.Nc4! Setting up a problem-like
finish. Qa6 14.Bg5+! Kxf7 15.Nd6# 1–0 Black's king
cannot escape the double check
.
S. Kaouras–R. Vorlop, e-mail 2003 1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Nge7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.d4 7.0–0 is considered the main line, e.g. 7...Bd7 8 d4 a6!? (8...exd4 9.cxd4 Ne5 10.Bxd7+
Qxd7 is equal) 9.c4 Qf7 10.d5 Nb8 11.Bxd7+ Nxd7 12.Nc3 Nf5 13.b4 gave White the advantage in
S. Hassan–B. Amin, Cairo 2003. 7...e4 Alternatives are the old move, 7...Bd7, and 7...Bg4, which is currently popular at the international level. 8.c4 Qd7 9.Nfd2 Qxd4 10.0–0 Bd7 11.Nc3 a6 12.Nb3 Qe5 13.c5 f5 14.g3 Ng6 15.Rd1 Be7 16.Bc4 Nd4 Now White appears to be in deep trouble. 17.Qxd7+! The best practical choice, which inspires White to play very
aggressively. 17...Kxd7 18.Be3 Nh4 If 18...Kc8, 19.Bxd4 traps Black's queen. 19.gxh4 Kc8 20.Bxd4 White has three pieces for the queen and the initiative; Black's pieces are uncoordinated. 20...Qf4 21.Be6+ Kb8 22.Ne2 Qf3 23.Ng3 Bxh4 24.Be3 g6 24...f4? 25.Nd2 traps the queen. 25.Rd7 Bf6 26.c6 b5 27.Rd5 Re8 28.Nc5 Bg7 29.Rad1! White creates a mating net by threatening Rd8+. 29...Ka7 30.Rd7 Be5 31.Bxf5 gxf5 32.Nb7+ Qxe3 33.fxe3 Having regained the queen, White has a winning material advantage. 33...f4 34.exf4 Bxf4 35.Nd6 Bxd6 36.R1xd6 Kb6 37.Rd1 Re6 38.Re1 e3 39.Rxh7 Rae8 40.Rg7 Kxc6 41.Re2 Re5 42.Nf1 Kd5 43.Kg2 c5 44.Rg3 Kd4 45.h4 c4 46.Rexe3 Rxe3 47.Nxe3 Kd3 48.Kh3 Kd2 49.Nd5 Kc1 50.Rg2 Re5 51.Nf4 b4 52.h5 Kb1 53.h6 Re8 54.Kg4 Rh8 55.Kg5 c3 56.bxc3 bxc3 57.Rh2 c2 58.Nd3 1–0 Notes based on those by International Master Gary Lane.
Here is a sharp recent grandmaster game in the 3...f5 line: Hikaru Nakamura
–Julio Becerra-Rivero, U.S. Championship 2007 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 f5 4.d4 fxe4 5.Nxe5 Nf6 6.Bb5 Bd6 7.Nc4 Be7 8.Ba4 d5 9.Ne5 0-0 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Nxc6 Qe8 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.0-0 Ng4 14.h3 e3 15.Bxe3 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Bxh3 17.Rf3 Bg4 18.Rxf8+ Rxf8 19.Qe1 Rf6 20.Nd2 Rg6 21.Qg3 Qe6 22.Qf4 Bh3 23.g3 h5 24.e4 Rg4 25.Qxc7 h4 26.Kh2 hxg3+ 27.Kxh3 Rxe4+ 28.Kg2 Re2+ 29.Kxg3 Qe3+ 30.Kh4 Qh6+ 31.Kg3 Qg5+ 32.Kh3 Rxd2 33.Qc8+ Kh7 0–1
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
that begins with the moves:
- 1. e4 e5
- 2. Nf3 Nc6
- 3. c3
It is one of the oldest chess openings, having been discussed in the literature by 1497. It was advocated by Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern—that...
, generally considered the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, in The Chess-Player's Handbook (1847). 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
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani was an 18th-century Italian law professor, priest, chess player, composer and theoretician. He is best known today for his chess writing.-Life:...
, whose main contribution to the opening was his introduction, in 1769, of the countergambit 3...f5!?
The opening is now considered inferior to 3.Bb5, the Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
, and 3.Bc4, the Italian Game
Italian Game
The Italian Game is a family of chess openings beginning with the moves:The game's defining move is the White king's bishop's move to c4 in preparation for an early attack on Black's vulnerable f7-square. As such the game is typified by aggressive play, where Black's best chances are often...
, and is accordingly rarely seen today at any level of play. Black's main responses are 3...Nf6, leading to quiet play, and 3...d5, leading to sharp play. Ponziani's countergambit 3...f5!? has usually been considered dubious, but was successfully played in the grandmaster game Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
vs Julio Becerra Rivero, US Championship 2007.
History
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 is one of the oldest known openings, having been 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 manuscriptGöttingen manuscript
The Göttingen manuscript is the earliest known work devoted entirely to modern chess. It is a Latin text of 33 leaves held at the University of Göttingen. A quarto parchment manuscript of 33 leaves, ff. 1–15a are a discussion of twelve chess openings, f. 16 is blank, and ff. 17–31b are a...
. Today the opening bears the surname of Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani was an 18th-century Italian law professor, priest, chess player, composer and theoretician. He is best known today for his chess writing.-Life:...
. Although Ponziani did analyze the opening in 1769, his principal contribution was the introduction of the countergambit 3...f5!? Later the opening was favored by Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern—that...
, who in The Chess-Player's Handbook (1847) 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".
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
George H. D. Gossip
George Hatfeild Dingley Gossip was a minor American-English chess master and writer. He competed in chess tournaments between 1870 and 1895, playing against most of the world's leading players, but with only modest success. The writer G. H...
in The Chess Player's Manual (1888, American edition 1902). Napoleon Marache
Napoleon Marache
Napoleon Marache was born in France and moved to the United States at about age 12. He learned the game of chess around 1844, and immediately became a devotee. He began composing chess problems and writing about chess the following year. In the mid-19th century, he was both one of America's first...
, 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 (1889, 1896), E. Freeborough
Edward Freeborough
Edward Freeborough was the co-author, with Charles Ranken, of Chess Openings Ancient and Modern , one of the first important opening treatises in the English language and a precursor of Modern Chess Openings. He was a member of the editorial staff of the British Chess Magazine from 1883 until his...
and the Reverend C.E. Ranken
Charles Ranken
Charles Edward Ranken was a Church of England clergyman and a minor British chess master. He co-founded and was the first president of the Oxford University Chess Club. He was also the editor of the Chess Player's Chronicle and a writer for the British Chess Magazine...
called it "Staunton's Opening". In an appendix to later editions of Staunton's work, R.F. Green, editor of the British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine is the world's oldest chess magazine in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as BCM....
, 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
James Mason (chess player)
James Mason was a famous chess player and writer. He was born in Kilkenny in Ireland. His original name is unknown: he was adopted as a child and only took the name James Mason when he and his family moved to the United States in 1861...
in his treatise The Art of Chess (Fourth Edition c. 1910?) referred to the opening as the "Ponziani–Staunton Attack". The famous German Handbuch des Schachspiels
Handbuch des Schachspiels
Handbuch des Schachspiels is a chess book, first published in 1843 by Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. It was one of the most important opening references for many decades...
, which went through eight editions between 1843 and 1916, called it the "Englisches Springerspiel" (English Knight's Game). The Reverend E.E. Cunnington in The Modern Chess Primer (Thirteenth Edition 1933) referred to it as the "Ponziani Opening (sometimes called Staunton's)."
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
, the first World Champion
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
, in his 1895 treatise The Modern Chess Instructor (Part II), inaccurately called the opening the "Ponziani Opening", as did his successor, Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
, in Lasker's Manual of Chess. Similarly, Frank Marshall in Chess Openings, the authors of Modern Chess Openings
Modern Chess Openings
Modern Chess Openings is an important reference book on the chess openings, first published in 1911 by the British players Richard Clewin Griffith and John Herbert White...
(Second Edition 1913), and Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
in The Game of Chess (1931, English translation 1938) called it "Ponziani's Opening". William Cook in The Chess Players' Compendium (Fifth Edition 1910) called it "Ponziani's Game", while Francis Joseph Lee
Francis Joseph Lee
Francis Joseph Lee was an English chess master.-Chess career:Lee played in a number of matches, and British and international chess tournaments, between 1883 and 1907...
and Gossip in The Complete Chess – Guide (1903) called it "Ponziani's Knight's Game". Contemporary authors likewise call it the "Ponziani Opening", "Ponziani's Opening", or simply "the Ponziani".
Modern perspective
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 moveFirst-move advantage in chess
The first-move advantage in chess is the inherent advantage of the player who makes the first move in chess. Chess players and theorists generally agree that White begins the game with some advantage. Statistics compiled since 1851 support this view, showing that White consistently wins slightly...
." More recently, Graham Burgess
Graham Burgess
Graham K. Burgess is an English FIDE Master of chess and a noted writer and trainer. He became a FIDE Master at the age of twenty. He attended Birkdale High School in Southport, Merseyside. In 1989 he graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in mathematics...
called the Ponziani "a relic from a bygone age, popular neither at top level nor at club level". It is rarely played today except as a surprise weapon, because Black has the pleasant choice between equalizing easily and attempting to obtain an advantage with sharper play. White's third move prepares to build a powerful center with 4.d4. This is a logical objective, also seen in the more popular Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
and Giuoco Piano
Giuoco Piano
The Giuoco Piano is a chess opening beginning with the moves:Common alternatives to 3...Bc5 include 3...Nf6 , 3...Be7 , or 3...d6 .-History:...
. However, 3.c3 is somewhat premature because (1) it takes away the most natural square for White's queen knight and (2) White, being uncastled
Castling
Castling is a special move in the game of chess involving the king and either of the original rooks of the same color. It is the only move in chess in which a player moves two pieces at the same time. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook on the player's first rank, then...
, is not well placed to meet a counterattack in the center. Moreover, unlike in the Giuoco Piano, where White's d4 advance attacks Black's king's
King (chess)
In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...
bishop
Bishop (chess)
A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...
on c5, in the Ponziani d4 will not gain a tempo. Grandmaster Larry Kaufman has observed that it is not clear to whom the opening should appeal, since White must be prepared for both "boring drawish
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
play" after 3...Nf6 and "spectacularly exciting lines" after 3...d5. Despite these comments 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."
Main variations
- 3...d5 4.Qa4
- 4...Bd7 (Caro Variation)
- 4...f6 (Steinitz Variation)
- 4...Nf6 (Leonhardt Variation)
- 3...d5 4.Bb5
- 3...f5 (Ponziani Countergambit)
- 3...Nf6 (Jaenisch Variation)
- 3...Nge7 (Kmoch Variation)
Black's most aggressive response is 3...d5, striking back in the center. Black players unfamiliar with these lines should be careful as after 4.Qa4 Black must either reinforce the center with 4...f6 (Steinitz Variation) or 4...Qd6, or be prepared to sacrifice a pawn with either 4...Bd7 (Caro Variation) or 4...Nf6 (Leonhardt Variation). If White instead plays 4.Bb5 the game becomes sharp with chances for both sides, although Black may emerge with advantage after 4...dxe4! 5.Nxe5 Qg5.
The Ponziani Countergambit (3...f5) is another aggressive Black response. Positions somewhat resemble those seen in the Latvian Gambit
Latvian Gambit
The Latvian Gambit is an aggressive but dubious chess opening, which often leads to wild and tricky positions. This opening is uncommon at the top level of over-the-board play, but some correspondence chess players are devoted to it...
, but in a more favorable incarnation for Black, since 3.c3 does not aid White's development and blocks his queen knight from developing to that square.
Black's safest course is 3...Nf6 (Jaenisch Variation). Play often continues 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7 (5...Nb8 is also playable) 6.Nxe5 Ng6, and now either 7.Qd4 Qf6 8.Qxe4 Qxe5 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. If black is to play this variation, he must make sure to avoid the notorious trap 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 d6?? when 7. Bb5+! wins material. Black can also play 4...exd4, meeting 5.e5 with either 5...Nd5 or 5...Ne4, leading to more double-edged play than after 4...Nxe4.
The unusual 3...Nge7 (Kmoch Variation) was advocated by International Master Hans Kmoch
Hans Kmoch
Johann "Hans" Joseph Kmoch was an Austrian-Dutch-American chess International Master , International Arbiter , and a chess journalist and author, for which he is best known....
. According to Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
, 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.
Illustrative games
Here is a quiet draw typical of the 3...Nf6 line: V. Medvedev (2365)–Charles Milgram (2375), ICCFInternational Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation was founded in 1951 as a new appearance of the ICCA , which was founded in 1945, as successor of the IFSB , founded in 1928....
1991 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d4 Nxe4 5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 Ng6 7.Qd4 Qf6 8.Qxe4 Qxe5 9.Qxe5+ Nxe5 10.Nd2 d6 11.Nc4 Nxc4 12.Bxc4 Be7 13.0-0 0-0 14. Re1 Bf6 15.Be3 Bd7 ½-½
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
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
–George H.D. Gossip, New York 1889 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 3...Nf6 is the safest response if Black is not well versed in the ensuing complications—as Gossip proves not to be. 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Ne7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.0-0 7.d4! is the main line today. Bd7? 7...e4! 8.Ne1 Bf5 9.f3 leads to equality. 8.d4 e4 9.Nfd2 Ng6? 9...f5! or 9...0-0-0 was better. 10.Bc4 Qa5 11.Qb3 f5? 11...0-0-0! was the best chance. 12.Bf7+ Ke7? 12...Kd8 is forced. 13.Nc4! Setting up a problem-like
Chess problem
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by somebody using chess pieces on a chess board, that presents the solver with a particular task to be achieved. For instance, a position might be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two...
finish. Qa6 14.Bg5+! Kxf7 15.Nd6# 1–0 Black's king
King (chess)
In chess, the king is the most important piece. The object of the game is to trap the opponent's king so that its escape is not possible . If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture on the next move. If this cannot be...
cannot escape the double check
Double check
In chess, a double check is a check delivered by two pieces at the same time. In chess notation, it is often symbolized by "++".-Discussion:...
.
S. Kaouras–R. Vorlop, e-mail 2003 1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Nge7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.d4 7.0–0 is considered the main line, e.g. 7...Bd7 8 d4 a6!? (8...exd4 9.cxd4 Ne5 10.Bxd7+
Qxd7 is equal) 9.c4 Qf7 10.d5 Nb8 11.Bxd7+ Nxd7 12.Nc3 Nf5 13.b4 gave White the advantage in
S. Hassan–B. Amin, Cairo 2003. 7...e4 Alternatives are the old move, 7...Bd7, and 7...Bg4, which is currently popular at the international level. 8.c4 Qd7 9.Nfd2 Qxd4 10.0–0 Bd7 11.Nc3 a6 12.Nb3 Qe5 13.c5 f5 14.g3 Ng6 15.Rd1 Be7 16.Bc4 Nd4 Now White appears to be in deep trouble. 17.Qxd7+! The best practical choice, which inspires White to play very
aggressively. 17...Kxd7 18.Be3 Nh4 If 18...Kc8, 19.Bxd4 traps Black's queen. 19.gxh4 Kc8 20.Bxd4 White has three pieces for the queen and the initiative; Black's pieces are uncoordinated. 20...Qf4 21.Be6+ Kb8 22.Ne2 Qf3 23.Ng3 Bxh4 24.Be3 g6 24...f4? 25.Nd2 traps the queen. 25.Rd7 Bf6 26.c6 b5 27.Rd5 Re8 28.Nc5 Bg7 29.Rad1! White creates a mating net by threatening Rd8+. 29...Ka7 30.Rd7 Be5 31.Bxf5 gxf5 32.Nb7+ Qxe3 33.fxe3 Having regained the queen, White has a winning material advantage. 33...f4 34.exf4 Bxf4 35.Nd6 Bxd6 36.R1xd6 Kb6 37.Rd1 Re6 38.Re1 e3 39.Rxh7 Rae8 40.Rg7 Kxc6 41.Re2 Re5 42.Nf1 Kd5 43.Kg2 c5 44.Rg3 Kd4 45.h4 c4 46.Rexe3 Rxe3 47.Nxe3 Kd3 48.Kh3 Kd2 49.Nd5 Kc1 50.Rg2 Re5 51.Nf4 b4 52.h5 Kb1 53.h6 Re8 54.Kg4 Rh8 55.Kg5 c3 56.bxc3 bxc3 57.Rh2 c2 58.Nd3 1–0 Notes based on those by International Master Gary Lane.
Here is a sharp recent grandmaster game in the 3...f5 line: Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
–Julio Becerra-Rivero, U.S. Championship 2007 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 f5 4.d4 fxe4 5.Nxe5 Nf6 6.Bb5 Bd6 7.Nc4 Be7 8.Ba4 d5 9.Ne5 0-0 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Nxc6 Qe8 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.0-0 Ng4 14.h3 e3 15.Bxe3 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Bxh3 17.Rf3 Bg4 18.Rxf8+ Rxf8 19.Qe1 Rf6 20.Nd2 Rg6 21.Qg3 Qe6 22.Qf4 Bh3 23.g3 h5 24.e4 Rg4 25.Qxc7 h4 26.Kh2 hxg3+ 27.Kxh3 Rxe4+ 28.Kg2 Re2+ 29.Kxg3 Qe3+ 30.Kh4 Qh6+ 31.Kg3 Qg5+ 32.Kh3 Rxd2 33.Qc8+ Kh7 0–1