Anyone play the Ponzani?

would anyone recomend playing it as white?

Originally posted by clandarkfire
would anyone recomend playing it as white?

Originally posted by sannevssr
Well, I guess it's playable , I have seen a game by Nigel Short with it not that long ago.
Problem is black isn't really have problems after either d5 or Nf6

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5
1. e5 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6

Originally posted by clandarkfire
I think 3...Nf6 is considered a mistake for black, but it seems most people play this

Originally posted by sannevssr
That is incorrect, 3. Nf6 is one of the two main moves and has been played by Spassky, Sokolov a.o.

Actually if you feed the position to chesslive.de and type only over 2500 rating. It will come up with about 20 games.
Surely all those grandmasters don't make a mistake on move 3?

YouTube

Originally posted by clandarkfire
heres a video on it, not that accurate, but it does have some good information.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOZLHeKWhTQ&feature=related

Nothing wrong with this opening at all. Its perfectly sound and has the advantage that its a little offbeat, and even has some trappy ideas in it.

Originally posted by sannevssr
no you tubin possible here from work.
But I doubt whatever that vid shows is going to convince me that 3. nf6 is wrong.

Originally posted by clandarkfire
it does not necessarally show that it is wrong, but in my opinion it shows 3....D5 is better

While the position might "objectively" (whatever that means) be equal, if White is more familiar with the nuances of the position than Black, then he will have a very real practical advantage.

Originally posted by gaychessplayer
While the position might "objectively" (whatever that means) be equal, if White is more familiar with the nuances of the position than Black, then he will have a very real practical advantage.

Originally posted by clandarkfire
yes, especially because it is not an opening many people are familiar with

Yes, I play it sometimes in blitz and I like it.