C24

Bishop's Opening: Ponziani Gambit

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Statistics from Lichess

1,756,293 games: White 55.3% / Draw 3.9% / Black 40.8%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	974,855975K
	378,920379K
	138,641139K
	111,693112K
	82,88083K
	24,55525K
	10,79411K
	10,67211K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 21, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.21 The position is about equal

Best play: 3... exd4 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. bxc3 d5 7. exd5 Bc5 8. Qe2+

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 55% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	1M
1400–1799	1.5M
1800–2199	897K
2200 and up	79K
Masters, over the board	447

Master games

Carlsen, M. – So, W. ½–½, 2019
Dubov, D. – Giri, A. ½–½, 2021
Adhiban, B. – Volokitin, A. 0–1, 2016
Savchenko, B. – Zvjaginsev, V. ½–½, 2015
Bauer, R. – Zhak, B. M. ½–½, 2014

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Bishop's Opening: Ponziani Gambit (ECO C24, Open Games) is a gambit in the Bishop's Opening: Berlin Defense, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 (3 moves).

In 1,756,293 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.3%, Black 40.8% and 3.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…exd4, in 56% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Bishop's Opening: Urusov Gambit and Bishop's Opening: Warsaw Gambit. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.

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Description

How to play against the Bishop's Opening: Ponziani Gambit

The most played answer, 3…exd4, also scores best for Black: 46.3%, with Black winning 44.3% and White 51.7% of 975K games. Of the main answers, 3…Nxe4 scores lowest: 36.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…exd4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The Bishop's Opening: Ponziani Gambit peaked in 2017 at 0.081% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.065% in 2025.

0.075%0.065%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.075%	26,818
2017	0.081%	44,350
2018	0.078%	60,910
2019	0.071%	89,054
2020	0.066%	193,340
2021	0.071%	279,427
2022	0.072%	270,833
2023	0.066%	247,518
2024	0.062%	222,735
2025	0.065%	226,172
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.064%	69,729

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Variations (2)

All 4 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Bishop's Opening: Ponziani Gambit (C24)”. Lichess data as of 21 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/bishops-opening-ponziani-gambit