Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Ke2
| BongCloud Attack | |
|---|---|
|
a b c d e f g h 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a b c d e f g h | |
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) | |
| Moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Ke2 | |
| Responses: 2…Ke7 - Double Bongcloud | |
Bongcloud Attack
2. Ke2
Ke2 is an interesting move. An early 'joke' idea of this move is to prepare for an early endgame by developing the king. However, the problems with 2. Ke2? are that the King move prevents castling to protect the King, endangers the King, ignores development and the center, and blocks the Queen and Bishop, which are the two pieces that are free after 1. e4. All that being said, it can be used as a surprise to unseat Black. Due to the dubiousness of the move, it can be used as a form of a handicap system.
Sometimes, games are played that begin with the Bongcloud Attack in which the players try to move the king to the opposite side of the board rather than achieve a checkmate.
In a tournament, GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Hikaru Nakamura played the "double bongcloud" wherein both players played symmetrically with 2. Ke2 Ke7. The match had no tournament standing implications and was quickly drawn via threefold repetition.[1]
References
With 2...g6:
With other 2nd moves for Black: