Previous Chess Articles
The following article was published in the March-April, 1986 issue of King's Korner (ASPCC) (Volume 28, Number 2, KK 136, pages 7 and 13):
On February 15, 1985, 143 of the strongest correspondence chessplayers in the US began play in the preliminaries of the 7th US Correspondence Chess Championship (7th USCCC). It is a two-round event consisting of preliminaries and finals. A score of 9.5 out of 12 qualifies a player for the finals. In addition to $400 in prize money, the finalists will be competing for the official title of US Correspondence Chess Champion. In addition to other laurels, the winner will also be invited to represent the US in international events.
Several ASPCC'ers are playing in the 7th USCCC. (Knudsen, Mike Mulford, David B. Johnson, Gil Ellithorpe, Newton Grant, Maurice Carter, Robert Karch, Ray Kremen, and Dave Heap are some of the ASPCC members who entered USCCC 7. If there are others, KK would like to publish your games ... please let us know! - Ed.) Qualification to the preliminaries was limited to players having a sufficiently high rating (USCF-OTB 2000, USCF postal 1500, ASPCC 1100, & etc). At the time my ASPCC rating was 1182, so I was eligible to enter.
When I received my assignment sheet, I was amazed at the apparent strength of the field. Here are the players assigned to Section 8 (using the new ELO ratings which will be applied to postal play by the USCF this July):
Quite a task, to score 9.5/12 from the above group! I decided that a more realistic score of 6-6 would be adequate for my first attempt.
Opening preparation is important for such an event. Part of opening preparation is not having a lot of other games going, so that one has time to research the selected openings! At the start of the tourney, I had over fifty other games going ... too many! Next time I plan to have no more than 12 to 20 other games in progress at the time the 8th USCCC begins.
I also learned that one should play "what comes natural": those openings with which one is already familiar and feels comfortable. As a d-pawn player, I made the "wise" decision to open with...you guessed it: 1 e4! I had hoped to play the white side of the Ruy Lopez, but my opponenets wouldn't oblige. As black, I wasn't too concerned, as I planned to steer those games into drawish-type positions. Yeah, right!
I got off to an exciting start in my first two games:
Aaron S. Dubin - Knudsen, Queen's Indian: 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 My first surprise. My opponent avoids my favorite Nimzo-Indian. Who said there isn't psychology involved in CC?3...b6 4 g3 Bb7 5 Bg2 Bb4+ Black takes some risk playing this. If the bishop is exchanged, an active defender is removed from the board. Still, Capablanca, Bogoljubov, and Nimzovich all liked it. 6 Bd2 Qe7 7 0-0 0-0?! This is asking for some minor trouble as 8 Bg5 is now good for white. Paoli-Szilagyi, Pecs, 1964, continued (after 8 Bg5): 8...h6 9 Bxf6 Qxf6 10 a3 Be7 11 Nc3 d5 12 Ne5 Rd8 13 cxd5 exd5 14 Qb3 with white having the better position. If we had followed this line I had planned to vary with 11...Bd8. 8 Nc3 d5 9 Ne5 c5 It's already clear that an intense struggle is shaping up on the queenside. 10 dxc5White is fixing black's c pawn. 10...bxc5 11 Na4 Bxd2 12 Qxd2 Na6 The knight is very useful here. 13 Rac1 Rfd8 14 Qa5 Rac8 At this point, Mr. Dubin forfeited his games in this section. I wasn't thrilled with my position, but felt I was holding on rather well. So, I'm 1-0.
Knudsen - Stephan D. Wolff, Closed Sicilian: 1 e4 c5 I hate the Sicilian. Always have. I'm still trying to figure out why. It's the main reason I usually open 1 d4. 2 Nc3 The one thing I am NOT going to do is play the master's own game! Bad strategy - better to pick something that will leave the books rather early. There is nothing worse than a 25 or 30 move book line in CC. 2...e6 3 g3 3 f4 is a good alternative. 3...Nc6 4 Bg2 g6 5 d3 Bg7 We've transposed back in to one of the main lines. 6 Be3 This strikes me as being more aggressive than 6 Nh3 or 6 f4. 6...d6 Transposing again to a different variation. 7 Qd2 Nge7 8 Nh3 0-0 9 0-0 The main line involves 9 Bh6 to immediately trade off black's troublesome king's bishop. 9...Nd4 10 Bh6 e5 11 Bxg7 Kxg7 12 f4 The assault on the black king begins.12...Bg4 13 Nf2 Bf3?!Other than setting a rather simple trap, I didn't see the purpose of this move; perhaps he prefers knights to bishops. 14 Nfd1 14 Bxf3 would be an error as then 14...Nxf3+ wins the white queen. 14...Bxd1 15 Nxd1 Now I was sure that I had the upper hand - black's outpost at d4 is about to be taken away from him. 15...Qd7 16 c3 Ndc6 17 Ne3 This knight will exert influence on the center and be able to shift to the kingside during the attack. 17...f6 Black realizes that he will have to "weather the storm", and so builds a defense around his king. 18 Rf2 Rf7 19 Raf1 Raf8 20 h4 h6 21 Kh2 Th king is used to facilitate the attack. The white bishop will be activated at h3 with a gain of time. 21...Nd8 22 Bh3 Qc6 23 Ng4 with the obvious threat of 24 fxe5 dxe5 25 Qxh6+ which wins at once. 23...Ng8 After this move I spent a lot of time looking for a good way to continue the attack. No logical continuation was immediately apparent, so I repeated the position to gain time. 24 Ne3 Ne7 25 Ng4 Ng8 Black offered a draw, and I accepted. I could find nothing which would effectively crack black's defense. I had drawn my first master! My spirits soared as my score stood at 1.5-0.5.
Barry L. Brandt - Knudsen, Queen's Gambit Declined: 1 c4 e6 I would like to transpose to a Nimzo-Indian if possible. 2 Nf3 Nf6 So much for a Nimzo! White already has the psychological edge. 3 Nc3 d5 4 d4 c6 From this point on I was playing without doing any research. This is an incredible mistake. At this level one must be adequately prepared. 5 Bg5 Nbd7 6 e3 Bb4 This bishop belongs on e7, as will become clear later on. 7 cxd5 exd5 8 Bd3 At this point I wanted to offer to switch sides; but I figured Barry wouldn't go for it. 8...0-0 9 0-0 Re8 10 Qc2 h6 11 Bh4 Bd6? Played with ignorance of the tactical requirements of the position. 11...Be7 is necessary. 12 e4 This is one of those positions where white's attack "plays itself" ... with ample help from black, of course! 12...exd4 13 Nxe4 Be7 14 Rfe1 Nxe4 Black is desperate here; I sought to simplify by exchanging pieces. 15 Rxe4! Nf6 16 Re3 Be6? Yet another error. 16...Nd5 is almost forced if black hopes to survive for long. 17 Qe2 Qa5?? Black loses quickly now. 18 Rxe6! fxe6 19 Qxe6+ Kh8 20 Ne5 g5 21 Qf7! 1-0 Black is totally destroyed. I was now brought back to reality. My score was 1.5-1.5.
(to be continued in future issues)
One of the reasons I carry a large game load (40-50) is that I'm impatient. That's odd for a CC player, isn't it? I like to work on my cards a little bit every day.
But there are problems with carrying such a large game load. My favorite problem comes when Monday evening rolls around; after a hard day's work, I may find as many as 12 cards waiting for me, perhaps half of them from the 7th USCCC! I've come to the brilliant conclusion that being somewhat bored may be better than being overwhelmed with important games.
Knudsen - Daniel M. Baich, Closed Sicilian: 1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 g3 g6 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 d3 d6 6 f4 When I was doing my research I came across the game Huebner-Timman, Amsterdam 1966. I liked white's position so much that I decided to steer this game in that direction, if possible. 6...e5 7 Nf3 Nge7 8 0-0 0-0 9 Nd5?! b5! I could not find this move in any of my references. I believe that it may be superior. Timman played 9...exf4 vs. Huebner; there then followed 10 Nxf4 d5 11 c3 dxe4 12 dxe4 b6 (ECO suggests 12...Qxd1 as leading to an equal ending) 13 Nd5 Be6 14 Ng5 Ne5 15 Bf4 Bg4 16 Qc2 and white was slightly better. 10 fxe5 dxe5 11 Be3 Here I was taking advantage of black's ninth move, which I then believed to be a mistake. 11...Nxd5 12 exd5 Nd4 13 c3 Nxf3+ 14 Bxf3 Qd6 15 d4? I honestly don't know why I played this move. 15...exd4 16 cxd4 c4 17 Qd2 Bb7 18 Bf4 Qd6 White has been playing mechanically. 19 Rad1 Rfe8 20 Bh6? This bishop is useful and should not be exchanged. 20...Rad8 21 Bxg7 Kxg7 22 Qf2 It finally dawns on me that I have to get something going here. 22...f5 23 Bg2 Bxd5 As Walter Browne might say, "My children, my children, they're being eaten!" 24 g4 Be4 25 Bxe4 Rxe4 26 gxf5 Rg4+! An excellent move that black uses to trade down to a simple, won ending. 27 Khl Qc6+ 28 Qf3 Qxf3+ 29 Rxf3 Rgxd4 30 Rxd4 Rxd4 31 fxg6 hxg6 32 Rf2 b4 33 Kg1 Rd1+ 34 Kg2 c3 35 Kf3 Rd3+ 0-1. A fine game played by Mr. Baich. Another lesson in lack of preparation. One must have a plan to succeed in chess. My score dropped to 1.5-2.5.
Charles G. Nace III - Knudsen, French Defense, Guimard Variation: 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nd2 Nc6 I've been in love with this opening ever since I saw the game Estrin-Sloth, 8th World CC Championship, 1980. Of course, Soth is Sloth and Knudsen is Knudsen! 4 Ngf3 4 Ne2 has also been tried. An amusing short happened in Grossner-Budrich, E. Germany, 1949, where after 4 Ne2 black played 4...e5 and the game continued 5 exd5 Qxd5 6 c4 Nb4! 7 cxd5?? Nd3#, 0-1. After 4 Ne2, 4...e5 is better than 4...Nf6 as played in Mengarini-Ervin, Lone Pine, 1971, which continued 5 e5 Nd7 6 c3 Be7 (6...f6) 7 Nf4 Nf8 8 Qh5 Ng6 9 Nf3 0-0 10 Bd3 Bd7 11 h4 (threatening 12 Ng5) 1-0. 4 c3 is hardly ever seen anymore, because after 4...e5, black is well on his way to equality. After 4 c3 e5, Von Pohl - Reschner, Celle, 1948, finished with 5 exd5 Qxd5 6 dxe5 (6 Nf3) Nxe5 7 Ngf3 Be6 8 Nxe5 Qxe5+ 9 Qe2 Qxe2+ 10 Bxe2 Nf6 11 Nb3 0-0-0 12 Be3 Nd5! 13 Bc5 (13 Bd2) Nf4! 14 Bxf8 Rhxf8 15 g3 (15 Kf1) Nxe2 16 Kxe2 Rfe8! 17 Rhel Bxb3+, 0-1. 4...Nf6 5 e5 Nd7 6 Nb3 There are at least five playable sixth moves for white at this point: 6 Nb3, 6 Be2, 6 c3, 6 g3, and 6 c4. 6 Nb3 is the most popular. 6...Be7 7 Bb5 a5 This is Sloth's move. The idea is that after 8 a4 Na7 9 Bxd7+ Qxd7 10 Nxa5 b6 11 Nb3 Ba6, black has good play for the pawn. 8 a4 Na7 8...Ncb8 is more usual here, but I prefer the text for that reason. 9 Bd3 b6 10 0-0 0-0 11 c3 In Wolff-Glueck, 1983 US Junior Championship, Wolff played 11 Qe2. What followed was an exciting, complicated struggle where white attacked on the kingside and black on the queenside. Black won out in a tension-filled game. 11...c5 12 c4 Now black can exploit the gaping hole at b4. 12...Nc6 13 Rel Nb4 14 cxd5 exd5 15 Bf5 Bb7 16 e6 fxe6 17 Bxe6+ Kh8 18 Ne5 Nxe5 19 Rxe5 Bf6 20 Rh5 g6 At this point Mr. Nace "withdrew" from the game. White is busted here. Black plans ...c4 and ...Bxd4 with winning pressure down the f-file. 0-1. My score was up to 2.5-2.5. This was one game where solid opening preparation was rewarded with a decent position and finally a win. Literature on the Guimard French is sparse and out-of-date. I've compiled my own "book" from master games and would recommend this method to anyone who wants to avoid being out-booked in the opening.
Thomas A. Crispin (Former US Amateur Co-Champion) - Knudsen, Nimzo-Indian Defense. 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 Finally! The Nimzo-Indian is one of the more solid reactions to 1 d4. I've had good luck with it in CC. 4 f3 Surprise! He plays the variation I like as white. 4...c5 5 d5 Nh5 6 g3 f5 7 e4 0-0 8 f4 Nf6 9 e5 To be considered here is 9 a3. 9...Ne4 Black's position is getting better and better. 10 Qc2 d6 Unusual position! 11 bd3 exd5 12 cxd5 dxe5 13 Bd2? This loses a pawn. 13...Nxd2 14 Qxd2 e4 Black's position is getting better and better again - black should win after this. 15 Be2 a6 16 0-0-0 Qd6 17 Kb1 b5 18 Nh3 Bb7? Black should think about the safety of his king here. 19 g4 Nd7 20 gxf5 Bxc3 21 Qxc3 Rxf5 At this point I was sure that the rest would be easy - just a matter of gobbling up the pawns. 22 Ng5 Bxd5 Gobble...gobble. 23 Qh3! Rxg5 Forced. 24 fxg5 Nb6? This is poor. Better is 24...Ne5. 25 Rhf1 Re8? 26 Bh5 e3?? There aren't enough question marks for this move. 27 Bf7+ Kh8 28 Rxd5! Nxd5 29 Bxe8 e2 30 Re1 Nf4 31 Qd7 Qe5 32 Bh5 g6 33 Qd8+ Kg7 34 Qf6+ Qxf6 35 gxf6+ Kxf6 36 Bxe2 1-0. A great disappointment. After fine opening play, I got greedy and wanted it all. Learned another valuable lesson - keep the pressure up but protect your position! I dropped to 2.5-3.5. The one consolation was that I didn't have to worry about qualifying for the finals anymore!
(to be continued in future issues)
My games are becoming more complex. I'm finding that the smallest mistakes are being ruthlessly punished at this level. I'm writing more notes concerning ideas and variations. Being a lazy player, this is not always an easy thing to do. It's tempting to fire off a move as soon as possible. In O-T-B chess, we are told to "sit on our hands." In CC that means opening up the notebook and working hard!
Knudsen - Edward N. Kitces, Closed Sicilian
An interesting game. White tries an innovation on move 11 in response to black's 7th move. The reader can decide whether white's sacrifice has merit.
1 e4 c5 2 Nc3 This tournament is teaching me all about the closed sicilian. Since I'm a d-pawn player, the value of this learning is dubious. 2...Nc6 3 g3 g6 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 d3 e6 6 Be3 Nd4 7 Qd2 The main line involves Nce2 at some point, but I was anxious to mix it up and avoid published theory if possible. 7...Qa5 8 Rb1 Nge7 9 Nge2 d6 10 0-0 0-0 11 b4 I had to play this move. I saw a queenside initiative developing ten moves down the road. At the cost of a pawn white will achieve a bind on the queenside which is irresistable. The more I looked at the different positions, the more I was convinced that I could get away with it. 11...cxb4 12 Bxd4 Bxd4 13 Nxd4 bxc3 14 Qe1 a6 15 Rb3 Qxa2 16 Qxc3 Qa4 Otherwise the queen is trapped. 17 Ra1 Qd7 18 Qb2 Nc6 19 Nxc6 bxc6 20 e5 d5 21 d4 The smoke has cleared. This is the position white saw at move 11. Materially, black is a pawn up. Positionally, white has the upper hand. Black's development is woefully behind. His bishop is imprisoned behind his own pawns. White can develop his own bishop at f1 where it will assist in regaining the a-pawn. 21...Ra7 22 Rb6 Kg7 Black intends to start an attack on the kingside. This can be accomplished with cooperation from white. 23 Bf1 h5 24 Qb4 The immediate 24 Bxa6 is better. 24...h4 25 Ra3 hxg3 26 hxg3? Black is getting the cooperation he wanted. 26...Rh8 The artillery is moving into position. 27 Qc5 Bb7 28 Bxa6 Bxa6 29 Rbxa6 Rxa6 30 Rxa6 Qd8 How will white stop the penetration of the kingside by the black queen? He won't! 31 Kg2 Qg5 32 Ra1 Qf5 33 Re1?? White can't use time pressure as an excuse here. Afraid of 33...Qe4+, he forgets about the more obvious tactical threat. 33...Rh2+ Boom! 34 Kxh2 Qxf2+ 35 Kh3 Qxe1 36 Qxc6 Qh1+ 37 Kg4 Qh5+ 38 Kf4 Qf5+ 39 Ke3 Qe4+ 40 Kf2 Qxd4+ 41 Kf3 Qxe5 42 Qc5 Qe4+ 43 Kf2 e5 44 Qc6 Qc4 0-1. My score lowered to 2.5-4.5.
Knudsen - Paul Motta, Center Counter Defense.
This game features a sharp opening, full of tactics. This is followed by an interesting endgame with a lot of possibilities for further study.
1 e4 Nc6 2 Nf3 White wants to stay away from a prepared line in the Nimzovich Defense. Perhaps black's library is better. 2...d5 3 exd5 Qxd5 4 Nc3 Qa5 5 d4 Bg4 6 Bb5 e6 This pawn is better placed at e5. 7 Bxc6+ bxc6 8 0-0 0-0 9 h3 Bh5 10 g4 Bg6 11 Ne5 Qb6 12 Qf3 f6 13 Nxc6 Rd6 14 Ne5! Qb7 15 Qxb7+ Kxb7 16 Nxg6 hxg6 17 Kg2 Rxd4 18 Be3 Rd8 19 Rad1 Bd6 20 Nb5 a6 21 Nxd6 cxd6 22 Rd3 White is ahead in development and shouldn't have too much trouble creating passed pawns on the queenside. Black's passed pawns will come down the center. Who will score first? 22...Kc7 23 Rfd1 Ne7 24 c4 Nc6 25 a3 a5 26 f4 a4! 27 b4 axb3 28 Rxb3 Rb8 29 Rb5 Rhd8 30 Rdb1 Rxb5 31 cxb5 Na5 32 a4 d5 33 Rc1+ Kb7 34 Kf3 White must activate his king if he is to hold the center. This is difficult, due to the mobility of black's knight. 34...Nc4 35 Bf2 Ra8 36 Ra1 e5 37 fxe5 fxe5 38 Ke2 d4 39 Kd3 Nd6 40 Bg3! Rc8?? In a complex position, black blunders. Now everything falls. 41 Bxe5 1-0. My score improved to 3.5-4.5.
Sid B. Pickard - Knudsen, Nimzo-Indian Defense.
A negative factor in CC is that many people drop out of games for one reason or another. In the eight years I have been playing CC, I have yet to forfeit a game, and I don't have any problems with winning a game by forfeit. Unearned points? Maybe. But the rules were designed to favor the player who does not forfeit games.
This game features a lively opening and middlegame. Each side attempts to punch holes in the other's position.
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Bg5 h6 5 Bh4 c5 6 d5 d6 Black will construct a strong-point configuration of pawns in the center. Using his knights, he will attempt to occupy and control the center squares.7 e3 Bxc3+ 8 bxc3 e5 9 Bd3 e4 This tactical shot is possible due to the white bishop's position at h4. 10 Bc2 White can't play 10 Bxe4 because of 10...g5! 10...Nbd7 11 Ne2 Qe7 12 Qb1 0-0 13 a3 g5 14 Bg3 Nb6 15 Qb3 Bg4 16 a4 Rae8 17 a5 Nc8 18 Rb1 Bxe2 19 Kxe2 b6 20 axb6 axb6 Eventually, white will win the b-pawn. Black is counting on a counter-attack on the kingside to offset this. 21 Qb2 Notice how white's queen has been tied down to the defense of the c-pawn. 21...Nh5 22 Ba4 Rd8 23 h4 g4 24 Bb5 f5 25 Bf4 Nxf4 26 exf4 h5 27 g3 Qf6 28 Kd2 Ne7 29 Ra1 Ra8 30 Bd7 Ng6 Black is tying down white's king-rook to the kingside. Black threatens to sacrifice the knight at h4 (or f4) and attack through the resulting holes. 31 Bc6 Rb8 32 Ra6 Qd8 White resigned all of his games at this point. 0-1. This is a difficult final position. My score evened to 4.5-4.5.
Note to reader: The fourth installment of the 7th USCCC Diary was submitted, but not published. There was a change in editors and somehow it got lost in the shuffle. Alas, I have also misplaced my copy as well. The last installment included three games. A win vs. Noble (my first win against a Master!), a loss vs. Rotter (which was very well played by Leo), and a draw with Harry Ingersoll (not played well by either one of us!). Anyone who is interested can find the game scores in my "CC Games" pages or in the "Complete" ChessBase file. So, my first attempt at the USCCC ended in a 6-6 score, the adjusted goal I had set out to achieve. I hope you enjoyed the articles as much as I did writing them, and, reading them again after all these years! By the way, my views on withdrawals has softened quite a bit, having suffered several disasters in my own life which necessitated withdrawals from chess. I am a firm believer that withdrawing players deserve their goose eggs - but, that rating credit can only be given after a proper adjudication.
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 c3
This ancient opening is one of my favorites. Although white's third move does not "threaten to threaten," as in the Ruy Lopez, it is not without logical foundation. White strives to be able to recapture with a pawn when he plays d4.
I) 3...d5 4 Bb5 dxe4 5 Nxe5 Qd5
We are following Pollmacher-Anderssen, Leipzig 1885. Other moves for black at move 5 include Qg5 or Bd7.
8 Nxf3 Qh5
Tartakower gives 8...a6 9 Be2 Ng6 10 0-0 b5 as being better for black.
9 0-0 Bg4 10 d4 0-0-0 11 Bf4 Kb8
Better is 11...a6
12 Nbd2 a6 13 Bd3 Nd5 14 Bg3 Bd6 15 Ne4!
This Knight embarks on a fantastic tour.
15...Bxg3 16 hxg3 Ne3
16...Nb6 would be safer.
17 Nc5 Rd6 18 Nxb7 Rh6 19 Nh4 Qd5 20 Nc5 Re8 21 Nxa6+ Kc8 22 Nc5 Kd8 23 Rae1! Bc8
If 23...Rxh4 24 Qa8+ Bc8 25 Rxe3 Rxe3 26 gxh4 Rg3 27 Be4.
24 Qa8 g6 25 Ba6 Na7 26 Qxd5+ Nxd5 27 Bxc8 Nxc8 28 Nb7+ Kd7 29 Rxf7+ (1-0).
A fine game.
II) 3...Nf6 4 d4 Nxe4
Other moves include a) 4...exd4 5 e5; b) 4...d5 5 Bb5; c) 4...d6 5 d5 Nb8 6 Bd3 g6 7 h3 Nbd7 8 Be3 Bg7 9 Nbd2 with a white plus.
5 d5 Nb8
Black has an important alternative in 5...Bc5?! which mixes it up violently. A good example of the potential danger to white in this variation is Wayte-Ranken, 1885: 6 dxc6 Bxf2+ 7 Ke2 d5 8 cxb7 Bxb7 9 Qa4+ c6 10 Nbd2 f5 11 Nxe4 fxe4 12 Kxf2 0-0 13 Be3 exf3 14 g3 Qc8 15 Bc5 Rf6 16 Rd1 a5 17 Rd2 Ba6 18 Bxa6 Qxa6 19 Re1 e4 20 a3 Qc8 21 Kg1 Qh3 22 b4 Re8 23 Qxa5 h5 24 Qa6 h4 25 Qf1 Qg4 26 Qf2 Rg6 27 b5 hxg3 28 hxg3 Rh6 29 Be3 Rh3 30 Bf4 Qh5 31 Qh2 Rxh2 32 Rxh2 Qg6 33 b6 e3 34 Rxe3 Rxe3 35 Bxe3 Qxg3+ 36 Kh1 Qe1+ 37 Bg1 Qxc3 (0-1).
6 Bd3 Nc5 7 Nxe5 Nxd3+ 8 Nxd3 Be7 9 0-0 d6 10 Qf3 0-0
is given as equal by Keres.
(III) 3...f5 4 d4 fxe4
If a) 4...d6 5 exf5 Bxf5 6 Bb5 exd4 7 Nxd4 Bd7 8 Bxc6 bxc6 9 0-0 Nf6 10 Re1+ Be7 11 Qe2 gives white the superior game. b) 4...exd4 5 e5 dxc3 6 Nxc3 Bb4 7 Bc4.
5 Nxe4 Nf6
with an equal game.
The Ponziani is a good weapon against the player who is expecting a Ruy Lopez. It also offers the student fertile ground to explore in any one of the main lines.