Ponziani Opening: Steinitz Variation
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. Qa4 f6
The Ponziani Opening: Steinitz Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. Qa4 f6. 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 129 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bb5 (36% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.10 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5. d3 Ne7 6. Nbd2 a6 7. d4 exd4)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp3pp/2n2p2/3pp3/Q3P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNB1KB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. Qa4 f6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 42 | |
| 2000+ | 84 | |
| All | 129 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bb5 | 47 (36%) | |
| 5. exd5 | 39 (30%) | |
| 5. d3 | 35 (27%) | |
| 5. d4 | 4 (3%) | |
| 5. Be2 | 2 (2%) | |
| 5. Nxe5 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
343 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 16%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2751) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2783) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 3m+2spm 2017 · 2017-10-24
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2707) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2775) 1/2-1/2 · Piterenka Rapid 2012 · 2012-12-29
- GM Vasif Durarbayli (2627) – GM So, W. (2822) 0-1 · PRO League KO Stage 2017 · 2017-03-15
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2707) – GM Dmitry Jakovenko (2741) 0-1 · Siberian Bank Cup · 2012-11-17
- GM Alexander Morozevich (2731) – GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (2698) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-19
Search all games of the Ponziani Opening: Steinitz Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MeeTion01 (2899) – Mysterious_Spy (2797) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- AMRULLAH_MF (2443) – land12345 (2589) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- WBoar (2551) – lesha_86 (2467) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
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: Réti Variation C44
- Ponziani Opening: Spanish Variation 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.