Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack
The Jaenisch Counterattack is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6, one of Black's two usual replies to the Ponziani Opening; the other is 3...d5. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
3,669,745 games: White 49.0% / Draw 4.3% / Black 46.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,835,9541.8M | ||
| 901,018901K | ||
| 293,997294K | ||
| 260,628261K | ||
| Ponziani Opening: Neumann Gambit | 154,115154K | |
| 122,042122K | ||
| 27,68328K | ||
| 20,57121K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Nd5 6. cxd4 d6 7. Bb5 dxe5 8. O-O exd4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 50% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 48% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 4.1M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.6M | |
| 2200 and up | 93K | |
| Masters, over the board | 909 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Harikrishna, P.
- Nakamura, H. – Anand, V.
- Hou, Y. – Carlsen, M.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Ponomariov, R.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – Radjabov, T.
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 26, 2026
Description
The Jaenisch Counterattack is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6, one of Black's two usual replies to the Ponziani Opening; the other is 3...d5. The knight attacks e4. It is considered Black's safest course, and the positions that arise range from highly chaotic to dull and passive.
Main lines
White's usual answer is 4.d4, in keeping with the idea of 3.c3. Black most often replies 4...Nxe4, with 4...exd4 a frequent alternative.
After 4...Nxe4 5.d5
The knight on c6 is attacked, and Black has three choices:
- 5...Ne7, the traditional line, often continues 6.Nxe5 Ng6. Here 6...d6? loses material to 7.Bb5+. After 6...Ng6 White plays 7.Qd4, 7.Qf3 or 7.Nxg6; the last line, 7...hxg6 8.Qe2 Qe7 9.Bf4 d6 10.Na3 Rh5 11.O-O-O Rf5, leads to equality according to Modern Chess Openings. Quiet draws are common in this line, though White keeps reasonable winning chances in the endgame.
- 5...Nb8 usually continues 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.Qd4.
- 5...Bc5, the Vuković Gambit or Fraser Defense, is an extremely sharp line in which Black lets White take the knight. The main line runs 6.dxc6 Bxf2+ 7.Ke2 Bb6 8.Qd5 Nf2 9.Rg1 O-O 10.cxb7 Bxb7 11.Qxb7 Qf6, with Black a knight and bishop down for two pawns but planning ...e4.
After 4...exd4
4...exd4 gives a position that can also arise in the Göring Gambit and tends to be more double-edged than 4...Nxe4. White usually plays 5.e5, and Black answers 5...Nd5 or 5...Ne4.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 49.0% of the 3.7 million games and Black 46.7%. The gap stays small at every rating: 48.5% against 47.7% under 1400 and 47.7% against 45.5% from 2200 up. In 909 master games over the board White won 32.7%, Black 28.8%, and 38.5% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack
The most played answer, 4. d4, also scores best for White: 53.6%, with White winning 51.4% and Black 44.2% of 1.8M games. Of the main answers, 4. Bd3 scores lowest: 48.3%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. d4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack dipped to 0.11% of Lichess games in 2019 and has recovered since: 0.15% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.14% | 50,012 |
| 2017 | 0.12% | 68,075 |
| 2018 | 0.11% | 88,378 |
| 2019 | 0.11% | 138,436 |
| 2020 | 0.11% | 332,525 |
| 2021 | 0.15% | 587,663 |
| 2022 | 0.15% | 555,522 |
| 2023 | 0.15% | 574,377 |
| 2024 | 0.15% | 539,606 |
| 2025 | 0.15% | 514,606 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.15% | 160,567 |
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 (3)
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Ponziani Opening, version of 26 October 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (C44)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/ponziani-opening-jaenisch-counterattack