I've been reading up on the Ponziani a little recently, so I found this game really interesting. 8...f5 is certainly a very aggressive line for Black, but White can shut things down with 9.d3 rather than 9.d4 and Black has to ask whether he has enough compensation for the pawn.
19.f4 also stops 19...f4 and transposes after 19...exf3.
Really nice game though, a fearsome attack and White had to play very accurately.
I'll get to exploring those possibilities immediately!
Thanks for suggesting them!
Okay, I've hit the books on this one and heres what I've got:
As I've said, this is GM John Emms analysis, not mine, and I don't necessarily understand all of it past move 10 or so but if this helps you out with your study of the Ponz then great!
Thanks! Both games nicely illustrate one of White's big headaches with using the Ponziani - how the heck to get the queenside pieces developed when the c-pawn is sitting on the knight's best square and advancing the d-pawn is a bit unclear. In your game, White's knight doesn't get developed until the game is already over and in the Emms example, it lumbers into action on move 19.
I played an agressive line which I like for black but I spoiled my chances with a dubious sacrifice. On the upside, it was fun to play!
Here it is:
Any constructive comments or critisisms would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers!