Tree path 5 levels King's Pawn Game › King's Knight Opening › Normal Variation › Ponziani Opening › Ponziani Countergambit
- Chess Codex
- King's Pawn Game C20
- King's Knight Opening C40
- Normal Variation C44
- Ponziani Opening C44
- Ponziani Countergambit C44 you are here
Ponziani Opening: Ponziani Countergambit
Overview
Ponziani Opening: Ponziani Countergambit is a gambit, classified under ECO code C44 within the Open Games family. As with all gambits, one side sacrifices material early — usually a pawn — in exchange for development, open lines, or initiative.
The Open Games group covers open games — classical 1.e4 e5 openings where both sides contest the centre directly with pawns.
It begins with 6 plies and takes 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 f5 to reach the canonical position.
It is a variation of Ponziani Opening, which itself descends from the root opening King's Pawn Game.
It continues primarily into one named line, Schmidt Attack.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- C44
- Group
- Open Games (C)
- Plies
- 6
- Parent
- Ponziani Opening
- Direct variations
- 1
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
212,650 games · White 44.1% / Draw 3.6% / Black 52.3%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| exf5 | 101,402 | |
| d4 | 48,863 | |
| d3 | 38,714 | |
| Bd3 | 6,602 | |
| Bb5 | 5,654 | |
| Qc2 | 3,939 | |
| Bc4 | 3,802 | |
| Qa4 | 1,228 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 01:26:33
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