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| Moves | 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ECO | C20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Open Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonym | Bongcloud Opening | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheBongcloud Attack (orBongcloud Opening) is an unconventionalchess opening that consists of the moves:
It is considered a joke opening, and is associated with internet chesshumor. Formerworld championMagnus Carlsen has used it in onlineblitz chess, including in games against high-level opponents andTwitch streamers, such asgrandmaster (GM)Hikaru Nakamura. The name has also been applied to other opening sequences in which a player moves the king on move two.
The opening's name is thought to originate either fromChess.com user "Lenny_Bongcloud", who used the opening with little success,[1] or more generally in reference to abong, a device used to smokecannabis, humorously implying that one would need to be intoxicated to view the opening as a legitimate strategy. The opening's usage in chess humor was furthered by Andrew Fabbro's joke manualWinning with the Bongcloud.[2]
The Bongcloud Attack violates several principles ofchess strategy by forgoingcastling, impeding the movement of both the queen and the light-squared bishop, leaving the king exposed, not controlling the centre or developing pieces, and doing nothing to improve White's position. The lack of any redeeming feature, unlike some other dubious openings, puts the Bongcloud well outside of conventional practice.[2]
GMHikaru Nakamura has used the Bongcloud Attack in onlineblitz games. He streamed himself using the opening exclusively on a new Chess.com account and reached 3000 rating.[2] In 2018, Nakamura played the Bongcloud three times against GMLevon Aronian during the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, winning one game and losing two.[3] Nakamura also played the Bongcloud against GMVladimir Dobrov in the 3+1 section and GMWesley So in the 1+1 section of the 2019 Speed Chess Championship, winning both games.[4][5] On 19 September 2020, Nakamura used the opening against GMJeffery Xiong in the final round of the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament played onLichess with a 5+3 time control and won.[6]
On 15 March 2021,Magnus Carlsen, playing white, led with the Bongcloud in a game against Nakamura at theMagnus Carlsen Invitational. Nakamura mirrored the opening with 2...Ke7?, leading to a position nicknamed the Double Bongcloud.[2] The game was intentionally drawn bythreefold repetition after the players shuffled their kings back and forth, and the opening was later jokingly named the Bongcloud Countergambit: Hotbox Variation. The game occurred in the last round of the preliminary stage of the tournament, and both players had already qualified for the following knockout stage, making the game adead rubber. It marked the first recorded occurrence of 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2 Ke7 in a major tournament.[2][7]
Despite its obvious inferiority, usage of such a "joke" opening can also have a psychological impact: following Carlsen's win overWesley So in a 2020 blitz tournament with a 3+2 time control where Carlsen played 1.f3 (theBarnes Opening) followed by 2.Kf2 (a variant also named the "Bongcloud"[8][9]), So noted that losing the game after such an opening had a crushing impact.[2]
The first use of the joke opening in aFIDE-rated game between top grandmasters occurred during theChess.com Global Championship finals in November 2022, which was an in-person rapid event played on Chess.com. Trailing 3–0 in his knockout match against Hikaru Nakamura, Polish GMJan-Krzysztof Duda played 1.e3 and 2.Ke2. Duda lost the game after missing some chances toequalise.[10]
Nakamura finished third with 21 points, winning his final game with the offbeat opening known as the "Bongcloud Attack". He managed to confuse his young American opponent Jeffery Xiong with the ultimate troll opening, winning in 52 moves.
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