Ponziani Countergambit, Schmidt Attack

The Schmidt Attack, 5. d5, answers Black's 4...d6 in the Ponziani Countergambit by pushing past the now-supported e5-pawn instead of exchanging in the center. The advance gains space and evicts the knight from c6. Black's most common reply by a wide margin is 5...Nce7, while 5...fxe4 and the retreat 5...Nb8 are less frequent. The engine gives White a slight edge, though results in online games are close to even.