Ponziani Opening: Neumann Gambit
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bc4
The Ponziani Opening: Neumann Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bc4. 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 934 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4… Bc5 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.78 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4… Nxe4 5. O-O d5 6. Bb5 Bd6 7. d3)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/2B1P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 569 | |
| 1500-1999 | 353 | |
| 2000+ | 12 | |
| All | 934 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Bc5 | 320 (34%) | |
| 4… Nxe4 | 240 (26%) | |
| 4… h6 | 117 (13%) | |
| 4… d5 | 81 (9%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 73 (8%) | |
| 4… d6 | 58 (6%) | |
| 4… a6 | 12 (1%) | |
| 4… Bd6 | 10 (1%) |
Master games
7 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 14%, draw 0%, Black 86%). The strongest:
- Gustavo Horokoski De Souza (1947) – FM Caleb Levi Levitan (2327) 0-1 · Titled Tue 18th Mar Early · 2025-03-18
- CM Leonardo Vincenti (2238) – CM Artem S. Lebedev (2033) 0-1 · Titled Tue 26th Sep Early · 2023-09-26
Search all games of the Ponziani Opening: Neumann Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nmurthy888 (2072) – bfx683 (2135) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- iambaris (2063) – alirezalami (2129) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- artinartan (2065) – CALO_2023 (2094) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (3. c3 Nf6) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nf6
More Ponziani Opening lines (all)
- Ponziani Opening C44
- Ponziani Opening: Caro Gambit C44
- Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (3… Nf6 4. d3) C44
- Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (4. d3 d5) C44
- Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (4… d5 5. Nbd2) C44
- Ponziani Opening: Leonhardt Variation 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.