(10) Grabinsky,Vladimir (2316) - Potapov,Alexander1 (2530) [C44]
Pardubice op-A Pardubice (1), 22.07.2005
[Kritz]



1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 Nf6 5.e5 Ne4 6.Qe2 f5

[6...d5 7.exd6 f5 8.Nbd2 Bxd6 9.Nxe4 fxe4 10.Qxe4+ Qe7 11.Qxe7+ Kxe7 12.cxd4² Of course Black has good chances of winning back the d4-pawn, but in the meanwhile White can perhaps obtain other strategic advantages.]

7.exf6

[7.cxd4 d5! 8.Nc3 Be6„ White has to spend a lot of time developing the bishop from the f1–square. The position offers sufficient opportunities to both sides. ]

7...d5 8.Nbd2 d3

[8...Qxf6 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Qxe4+ Qe7 11.Qxe7+ Bxe7 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.cxd4 Be6 14.Be3²]

9.Qe3! A very strong move! The d3-pawn can always be taken later.

[9.Qxd3 doesn't bring him an advantage. 9...Nxf6=]

9...Bc5

[9...Qxf6 10.Nxe4 dxe4 11.Qxe4+ Qe7 12.Bxd3±;
9...Bf5 10.Bxd3 Qxf6 (10...Bc5 11.fxg7 Rg8 12.Nd4±) 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Bxe4 0–0–0 13.0–0±]

10.fxg7 Rg8 11.Nd4 Qe7

[11...Rxg7 12.Bxd3 Bf5 13.0–0 Bxd4 (13...Nxd4 14.cxd4 Bd6 15.Re1!
(15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Bxe4 Bxh2+ 17.Kxh2 Qh4+ 18.Kg1 Qxe4 19.Qxe4+ Bxe4 20.Re1 Re7± Despite everything, the presence of bishops of opposite colours increases the the risk of a draw. )
15...Qh4 16.g3! 0–0–0 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Bxe4 Bxe4 19.Qxe4+- Bxg3 The final attempt. 20.hxg3 Rxg3+ 21.fxg3 Qxg3+ 22.Kf1 Rf8+ 23.Ke2 Rf2+ 24.Kd1+- Almost mate, but not quite!) 14.cxd4 Qe7 15.Re1 Nd6 16.Nf3 Qxe3 17.Rxe3+± White has an extra pawn and the bishop pair.]

12.Bxd3 Nxd4

[12...Nxd2 13.Qxe7+ Bxe7 (13...Kxe7 14.Nxc6+ bxc6 15.Bxd2 Rxg7 16.0–0 Bh3 17.Rfe1+ Kf6 18.g3+-) 14.Bxd2 Nxd4 15.cxd4 Rxg7 16.g3 Bh3 17.0–0–0±]

13.cxd4 Bxd4

[13...Nxd2 14.Qxe7+ Bxe7 15.Bxd2 Rxg7 16.g3 Bh3 17.0–0–0±]

14.Qxd4! Ng3+ 15.Ne4! Material is no longer important; what matters is the king! 15...Nxh1

[15...dxe4 16.Bb5+ c6 17.hxg3 cxb5 18.Rh5 Be6 19.Bg5 Qxg7 20.Qxe4+-]

16.Bg5 Qe6 17.Kf1

[17.0–0–0!+- would have been even stronger and even more effective! Black can resign.]

17...Kf7 18.Bf6 h6 19.Re1 c5 20.Qxc5 dxe4 21.Bc4 Kxf6 22.Bxe6 Bxe6 23.Kg1 Nxf2 24.Qxf2+ Kxg7 25.Qd4+ Kg6 26.Rf1 Rae8 27.Rf6+ Kh5 28.Rxe6 Rxe6 29.Qd5+ 1–0

rossia wrote on 07/16/08 at 06:58:16:

For once I agree with Anonymous. If you want to discuss the Ponziani, you should start a new thread. I would be pleased if you posted that game Grabinsky-Potapov, as the judgment better prospects for White looks quite debatable to me.

Let us see what Chessbase Magazine 124 has to say about line which Marin recommends against Ponziani:


Ponziani - good enough for a surprise weapon
by Leonid Kritz

By far the safest reply nowadays to 1.e4 is 1...e5. It is very difficult for White to achieve an advantage in the Petrov Defence or the Ruy Lopez. Well, it is unfortunately hardly possible to avoid the Petrov, unless you play the King's Gambit or something similar. On the other hand, there are several possible ways of side-stepping the Ruy Lopez. The most frequently seen deviations are the Scotch Game and the Giuoco Piano. But unfortunately Black can easily equalise in both these openings with correct play. And as White, there is an enormous amount of theory to be known in both these openings so as not to be at a disadvantage. In other words, you have to do a lot of work and in spite of that you cannot get anything more than equality. So in such situations it is sometimes better and more efficient to look out a rare opening which leads to interesting positions and at the same time can prove a somewhat unpleasant surprise for your opponent. One such opening is the Ponziani Opening.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3!? - and there we have the Ponziani.

White's idea is obvious: he wants to play 4.d4 and then, after 4...exd4, to recapture with the pawn - 5.cxd4 - in order to secure for himself an advantage in the centre. Black has two ways in which he can disturb White's plan, the moves 3...d5 and 3...Nf6.

C) The solid main continuation 3...Nf6

4.d4! Of course, what else? It is incredible but  roughly 1/5 of games continued with 4.d3?... Of course the Ponziani should not be played so passively!
Black can now choose between 4...Nxe4 and 4...exd4.

C1) 4...exd4

The position can also be reached via the Scotch Gambit  (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 Nf6).
After 5.e5 Black once more has the choice:

a) 5...Ne4 6.Qe2 f5 7.exf5 d5 8.Nbd2 and in the resulting complications White does have better prospects: Grabinsky,V - Potapov,A 1-0.

b) 5...Nd5  6.cxd4 ¥b4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 0-0 8...d6 9.Nc3 Nxc3 10.Qxc3 boils down to the same variation.

9.Nc3 Nxc3 10.Qxc3! d6 11.Be2

In Isgandarova,K - Ozturk,K ½-½ White had a slight advantage, which is of course insufficient to achieve anything real if Black plays correctly . But after all, where else can you find a genuine plus in the 1.e4 e5 openings?

C2) 4...Nxe4

5.d5 Ne7 6.Nxe5 Ng6 7.Qd4 Nor does 7.Qf3 Qe7 change anything.

On the other hand 7.Nxg6 can be interesting. After 7...hxg6 8.Qe2 Qe7 9.Bf4 d6 10.Na3 Nf6 11.0-0-0 White got a certain amount of initiative in Delchev,A - Plachetka,J 1-0.

7...Qe7 8.Qxe4 Qxe5 9.Qxe5 Nxe5

10.Bf4 Bd6 10...d6 is also very solid, but White has at least secured for himself a slight advantage in space; 11.Na3 a6, the position is level, but there is still play in it: Gu Xiaobing - Xie Jun 1-0.
11.Bg3 0-0 12.Nd2 f5!

A very precise move!
13.f3 b6 14.0-0-0 Bb7 15.Nc4 Nxc4 16.Bxc4

The position is approximately level; White's winning chances are based solely on the bad bishop on b7. If Black solves this problem successfully, which will not be all that difficult, he will reach equality: Kleeschaetzky,R - Slobodjan,R ½-½.


As a conclusion I can state that the Ponziani is perfectly usable as a surprise weapon. Black has to find some accurate moves. Little inaccuracies allow White to achieve a secure advantage. But of course the Ponziani will not do as a main opening; at a certain point your opponents will begin to prepare for it properly and to head only for solid lines, and then it will no longer be fun. But if you play it from time to time, the Ponziani is a dangerous weapon.

Quote:


How do you know this? You mean you actually bought Marin, Kaufman, Daives and Emms? 

Oh silly me, of course not. You probably posted a few queries on this website to find out what each of these other books recommend? 

MNb wrote on 07/15/08 at 15:57:32:


Oh no! I thought I was the only one who knew about the Outer-Mongolian Defense of the Tierra del Fuegian Attack  . Great, now I've got to go find another answer to 2.a4.

MNb wrote on 07/15/08 at 15:57:32:


A topic of vast importance and interest, no doubt, to one or two people.  But in fact, Anonymous is way short of 64.

Quote:


Start a Ponziani thread for discussion of this point.  It really isn't relevant to the topic of this thread -- a point that has already been made here many times.

IMJohnCox wrote on 07/15/08 at 11:58:28:


Are you serious IM John Cox? I would expect other like Bibs to make dumb comments like this but I expected far better from you! Most of the lines Marin recommends are also recommended in either Play 1 e4 e5, Play the Open Games as Black, The Chess Advantage in Black and White, etc. Also, Marin didn't look at White repertoire books!

For example, after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 0-0 Nf6 5 d4!?, Marin recommends 5...exd4 and spends two whole chapters discussing it! He says 5...Bxd4 is too risky but if he had looked at Larry Kaufman's The Chess Advantage in Black and White, he would have realized that 5...Bxd4 is not to risky and basically refutes this line for White and could have just recommended 5...Bxd4 and analyzed it in about half a page instead of giving two chapters on 5...exd4!

Also, another example is after 1 e4 e5 2 f4 Bc5 3 Nf3 d6 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 Bc4 Nc6 6 d3 Bg4 7 h3 Bxf3 8 Qxf3, he recommends 8...exf4 and says 8...Nd4 is bad because of 9 Qg3 and then only gives 9 Nxc2+, 9... Qe7, and 9...exf4 for Black, but if he had used Play 1 e4 e5!, he would have realized that 9...0-0! is ok for Black!

These are just 2 examples of many more i can show!