Ponziani Opening - 3...d5 Lines
After 6...Bg4 7.Be2 O-O-O 8.Nc3 Bb4 9.O-O Bxc3 10.bxc3, you gain the bishop pair. Push c4, d5, Qb2 and a4, hitting g7. Aim for central space and a winning attack.
Let's learn the 3...d5 Lines! In this chapter, Black trades pawns on d5 and then opens the center with exd4. We retake toward an isolated d4 pawn, setting a trap if Black grabs it. Let's begin with 1.e4.
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Key lines
The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.
- Main Line
… 9... Bxc3 10. bxc3 Nf6 11. Be3 Ne4 12. Qc2
- 5...Bg4
… 5. d4 Bg4 6. Be2 exd4 7. cxd4 O-O-O 8. Nc3 Bb4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Nf6 11. Be3 Ne4 12. Qc2
- 5...Bg4
… 5. d4 Bg4 6. Be2 e4 7. Ng1 Bxe2 8. Nxe2 O-O-O 9. Be3 f5 10. Nd2 Bd6 11. c4 Qf7 12. c5
- 5...Bg4
… 5. d4 Bg4 6. Be2 O-O-O 7. c4 Qa5+ 8. Bd2 Bb4 9. d5 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nd4 11. Nc3 Qa6 12. Be2
- 5...Bg4
… 5. d4 Bg4 6. Be2 O-O-O 7. c4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Qa5 9. d5 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nd4 11. Nc3 Qa6 12. Be2
- 5...Bg4
… 5. d4 Bg4 6. Be2 O-O-O 7. c4 Qe4 8. Nc3 Bb4 9. d5 Bxf3 10. gxf3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qg6 12. Be3
- 5...e4
… 5. d4 e4 6. Nfd2 f5 7. Bc4 Qd6 8. f3
- 5...e4
… 5. d4 e4 6. Nfd2 Nf6 7. Nc4 Be7 8. Ne3 Qd8 9. Nd2
- 5...e4
… 5. d4 e4 6. Nfd2 Nf6 7. Nc4 Bg4 8. Ne3 Bxd1 9. Nxd5 Nxd5 10. Kxd1 g6 11. Bc4 O-O-O 12. Kc2
- 6...Nf6
… 6. cxd4 Nf6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Bg4 11. Bf4
- 7...Bb4+
… 7. Be2 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Qc4 10. Qb3
- Trap: 8...Qxd4, you win the queen
… 7. Be2 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 Qxd4 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. Qxd4 Nf6 11. Qc4
Other chapters
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Nd5 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Bb3 dxc3 8. Nxc3 Bb4 9. O-O O-O 10. Qd3 d6 11. e6
4...exd4 Lines (after 3...Nf6 4.d4)
Black meets 4.d4 with 4...exd4, entering Jaenisch Counterattack lines. Reply 5.e5 to kick the knight, then develop with Bc4, Bb3, Nxc3, O-O, and Qd3 aiming for h4. Watch for 10...Re8?, which lets you win the queen with Ng5. Push e6, follow with Ng5 and Bxe6+ for a kingside majority, then Qh3 brings a winning attack.
15 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d4 Nxe4 5. d5 Ne7 6. Nxe5 d6 7. Bb5+ c6 8. dxc6 bxc6 9. Nxc6 Qb6 10. Nd4+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+ Kxd7 12. O-O
4...Nxe4 Lines (after 3...Nf6 4.d4)
Black grabs your e4 pawn with 4...Nxe4 after 3...Nf6. Push 5.d5 to kick the knight, then recapture with 6.Nxe5. Watch for the common mistake 6...d6, met by 7.Bb5+ to win material. Aim for a position with a queenside majority against Black's isolated d-pawn.
10 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Bc5 4. d4 exd4 5. cxd4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 d6 7. d5 Ne5 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qxb4 Nxf3+ 10. gxf3 Nf6 11. Be3 b6 12. O-O-O
3...Bc5 Lines
After 3...Bc5, Black often falls for the trap with 6...d6 and 7...Ne5, letting you play 8.Qa4+ and win the bishop pair with 9.Qxb4. Follow up with Qd4 and f4, preparing e5 while pressing Black's backward c7 pawn. Watch for Black grabbing material with 4...exd4, which only helps you after 5.cxd4. Aim for a safe king on c1, the bishop pair, and lasting pressure on the half-open c-file.
8 lines1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. cxd4 Bg4 6. Be2 Nf6 7. h3 Bh5 8. d5 Ne5 9. Qa4+ Ned7 10. g4 Bg6 11. Nc3
3...d6 Lines
Facing the Ponziani with 3...d6, meet 4...exd4 with 5.cxd4 and develop normally. After ...Bg4, ...Nf6, play Be2, h3, then d5 to kick the c6 knight. If ...Ne5, hit it with Qa4+, then push g4, h4, and g5 to open the kingside. Aim for active piece play against Black's queenside majority.
5 lines
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