Ponziani Opening
C44 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3
Black scores 49.9% here across 519 club games — but the 24.1% who answer Bc5 score 46.4%, 4 points worse.
What Black actually plays here
Across 519 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, Black scores 49.9% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | Black scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nf6 | 217 | 41.8% | 51.6% | holds up |
| Bc5 | 125 | 24.1% | 46.4% | below the line |
| d6 | 79 | 15.2% | 47.5% | holds up |
| d5 | 60 | 11.6% | 52.5% | holds up |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.