Ponziani Opening: Réti Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nge7
The Ponziani Opening: Réti Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nge7. It is a line of the Ponziani Opening. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 94 times by this move order. White won 63%, 1% were drawn and Black won 36%. The most popular continuation is 4. d4 (71% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 4. Bb5 d5 5. Nxe5 dxe4 6. Qe2 Be6)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/ppppnppp/2n5/4p3/4P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 Nge7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 31 | |
| 1500-1999 | 57 | |
| 2000+ | 6 | |
| All | 94 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d4 | 67 (71%) | |
| 4. Bc4 | 9 (10%) | |
| 4. Bb5 | 6 (6%) | |
| 4. b4 | 3 (3%) | |
| 4. d3 | 3 (3%) | |
| 4. h3 | 3 (3%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 2 (2%) | |
| 4. g3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
13 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 62%, draw 23%, Black 15%). The strongest:
- IM Eric Rosen (2361) – GM Kirill Alekseenko (2650) 0-1 · Titled Tue 5th Mar Early · 2024-03-05
- IM Yu A. Wang (2328) – IM Yang Shen (2468) 1-0 · ch-CHN Blitz Women 2018 · 2018-06-08
- IM Renato Terry (2520) – Krzysztof Budrewicz (2184) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Aug Early · 2023-08-08
- IM Renato Terry (2508) – CM Maksim Ivannikov (2134) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Oct 2025 · 2025-10-07
- IM Renato Terry (2514) – Daniel Yedidia (2056) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Aug Late · 2024-08-13
Search all games of the Ponziani Opening: Réti Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- StockJamie (2298) – Abs001Presh (2250) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Cyprianophobic78 (2225) – Jari01 (2199) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- Karawana2020 (2095) – Deaa1997 (2113) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
Ponziani Opening 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3
More Ponziani Opening lines (all)
- Ponziani Opening: Caro Gambit C44
- Ponziani Opening: Jaenisch Counterattack (3. c3 Nf6) 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: Neumann Gambit C44
- Ponziani Opening: Ponziani Countergambit C44
- Ponziani Opening: Ponziani Countergambit, Schmidt Attack C44
- Ponziani Opening: Romanishin 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.