Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (4… d5 5. Nbd2)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2
The Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2. It is a line of the Ponziani Opening. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 117 times by this move order. White won 56%, 4% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 5… dxe4 (57% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.16 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 5… Bd6 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. Re1)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/ppp2ppp/2n2n2/3pp3/4P3/2PP1N2/PP1N1PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 78 | |
| 1500-1999 | 31 | |
| 2000+ | 8 | |
| All | 117 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… dxe4 | 67 (57%) | |
| 5… d4 | 19 (16%) | |
| 5… Bg4 | 13 (11%) | |
| 5… Bd6 | 5 (4%) | |
| 5… Bc5 | 4 (3%) | |
| 5… Be6 | 4 (3%) | |
| 5… Be7 | 3 (3%) | |
| 5… g6 | 2 (2%) |
Master games
56 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 54%, draw 19%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Borki Predojevic (2601) – GM Kateryna Lagno (2546) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 20th Oct · 2020-10-20
- GM Raunak Sadhwani (2676) – IM Mihnea Costachi (2464) 1-0 · Abu Dhabi Masters Online · 2025-08-18
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2580) – GM Nikita Petrov (2547) 0-1 · Chessable Masters Play-In · 2023-03-13
- GM Denis Kadric (2545) – FM Ismael Alshameary Puente (2418) 1-0 · Portugal Open 2019 · 2019-02-04
- IM Viktor Gazik (2504) – IM Lev Yankelevich (2448) 1-0 · 3rd Vergani Cup 2019 · 2019-01-02
Search all games of the Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MandibleusZygomidus (2528) – Mallorca10Barcelona (2682) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- MandibleusZygomidus (2555) – unitedff (2616) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- MandibleusZygomidus (2436) – Batman412 (2586) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (4. d3 d5) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d3 d5
More Ponziani Opening lines (all)
- Ponziani Opening C44
- Ponziani Opening: Caro Gambit C44
- Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (3. c3 Nf6) C44
- Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (3… Nf6 4. d3) C44
- Ponziani Opening: Leonhardt Variation C44
- Ponziani Opening: Neumann Gambit C44
- Ponziani Opening: Ponziani Countergambit C44
- Ponziani Opening: Ponziani Countergambit, Schmidt Attack C44
- Ponziani Opening: Romanishin Variation C44
- Ponziani Opening: Réti Variation C44
- Ponziani Opening: Spanish Variation C44
- Ponziani Opening: Spanish Variation, Harrwitz Attack, Nikitin Gambit C44
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.