Hou Yifan played it against Magnus Carlsen in the Tata Steel Tournament last week.
Ponziani Opening
Sort:
Come on, the Ponziani isn't in the same class as the Parham.
It wasn't only Hou Yifan who played the Ponziani against Carlsen. Carlsen himself had just played it against Harikrishna.
When is the last time two strong GMs played the Parham in a top-level classical chess tournament? Never is the answer unless I'm mistaken. I don't play 1.e4 much nowadays, so I don't have any stake, but I'd laugh myself silly if I saw a GM playing the Parham, and the Ponziani isn't even in the same category of opening.
The Parham has been invented again and again by thousands of patzers over the ages.
[COMMENT DELETED]
Ponziani runs: e4 e5; Nf3 Nc6; c3.
it's like ruy lopez, instead of Bg5 of lopez, c3 is played. The idea is to build a solid pawn centre. This is opening is normally played by <2200 players, rare among higher rated games. That's why magnus was surprised when hou yifan played it against him. The Opening leads to tactical game.
You should analyse and study some games for those things.
I have taken interest in the Ponziani and was looking for some material to study and get some insight in the opening. Who plays(ed) it frequently? Main lines? Tactics and known blunders? Any help is appreciated.