Ponziani scheme

The world championship qualifier, known as the Candidates’ tournament, should now be underway in London. (For details see the website worldchess.com/candidates.) The favourite is Magnus Carlsen, who has identified Lev Aronian of Armenia as his most dangerous rival according to an interview in the Guardian with Stephen Moss. If Magnus fails to rise to the occasion, I favour Vladimir Kramnik, who usually plays well in London, where he was crowned world champion in 2000 when he defeated Kasparov.
 
One of Carlsen’s great strengths is his ability to adopt seemingly harmless openings and then manoeuvre endlessly until the opponent cracks. A case in point was his victory with the antediluvian Ponziani Opening, which he used to great effect at Wijk aan Zee earlier this year.
 
Carlsen-Harikrishna: Wijk aan Zee 2013; Ponziani Opening
 
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 c3 Nf6 4 d4 d5 Here I would be inclined to play the sharp 4 … Nxe4 5 d5 Bc5 6 dxc6 Bxf2+ 7 Ke2 bxc6 with distinct compensation for the piece.