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Ponderchess / Openings

Bongcloud Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Ke2. A joke opening: White moves the king on move two, gives up castling for good, and blocks both the bishop on f1 and the queen.

Watch it in 3D

3D lesson · 5 steps · 30 seconds

The Bongcloud Attack in 3D

Bongcloud Attack, move by move: e4 e5 Ke2

Preparing your opening…

Key ideas

  • 2.Ke2 breaks the basic opening principles in one move. It does not develop a piece or fight for the centre, it gives up the right to castle, and it puts the king on a file that can open.
  • The king on e2 blocks the bishop on f1 and the queen's diagonal toward h5, so White must spend further moves just to free the pieces.
  • Black simply develops with ...Nf6, ...Nc6 and ...Bc5 and opens lines with ...d5. There is no theory to learn, because White's position is worse without Black doing anything special.
  • It is known mainly from casual online play, where strong players sometimes use it as a handicap. In serious play it hands Black an easy game.

Plans for White

There is no serious plan, which is the point of the joke. If you play it anyway, keep the centre closed, develop with d3 and Nf3, and avoid opening lines near your king.

Plans for Black

Develop quickly, castle, and open the centre with ...d5 while White's king is stuck on e2. Black has an easy game.

Watch out

The king on e2 can be mated quickly. After 2...Qh4 the e4 pawn is attacked, and the natural 3.Nf3?? allows 3...Qxe4#.