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The Bongcloud Opening
September 30, 2020
From Wikipedia:
The Bongcloud Attack is a "joke" chess opening that consists of the moves
1.e4 e5
2.Ke2?!
The opening is named after the bong, a device designed for smoking cannabis and tobacco.
As a joke opening, the Bongcloud enjoys a cult following within the online chess community. The opening goes against many basic chess principles, including protecting the king and piece coordination. In playing the Bongcloud, white almost immediately puts their king in danger, blocks the diagonals of the bishop and queen, and loses castling privileges, all of which are considered crucial for viable strategies in competitive chess.
The opening is referred to as the "King David's Attack" in some sources (particularly as a response to the Sicilian), and has been called "rather silly".
High-level usage
The Bongcloud Attack has been widely popularized by Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. In 2018 Nakamura played the Bongcloud three times against GM Levon Aronian during the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, winning one of the three games. Nakamura also played the Bongcloud against GM Vladimir Dobrov and GM Wesley So during the 2019 Speed Chess Championship, winning both of those matches. Nakamura further popularized the opening in a YouTube and Twitch series called "Bongcloud Speedrun to 3000 - Aim HIGH".
On September 19, 2020, Nakamura used the attack against GM Jeffery Xiong in the final round of the online St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament and won the game.
Magnus Carlsen has his own variation of the Bongcloud where he plays c3, f3, Qa4, Qh4, Kd1, and Qe1, essentially switching the positions of the King and Queen, which takes at least 6 moves to perform and gives a severe handicap to the opponent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongcloud_Attack
From chess24 today:
Carlsen plays Bongcloud to win Banter Series
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen won after starting 1.f3, 2.Kf2 - the notoriously bad “Bongcloud” opening - on his way to beating Wesley So 5.5:3.5 to claim the $12,000 top prize in the chess24 Banter Series. Wesley struggled to get over losing that game and was still lamenting “that’s just so humiliating” two games later. He struck some blows of his own, though, and pushed Magnus all the way until a relieved World Champion summed up, “what a battle!” at the end.
https://chess24.com/en/read/news/car...-banter-series
Games
Chess24 Banter Series Final
3+2
Game 1, September 29
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
A00 Bongcloud/Hammerschlag Opening
1.f3 e5 2.Kf2 d5 3.e3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Ne7 5.d4 a6 6.Ba4 exd4 7.exd4 Nf5 8.Ne2 Bd6 9.c3 O-O 10.Nd2 Re8 11.Nf1 Bd7 12.Bc2 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qf6 14.Bf4 Nce7 15.Bxd6 Nxd6 16.Ne3 Bf5 17.Nf4 c6 18.Re1 Qh6 19.h4 Qf6 20.Bxf5 Nexf5 21.Ng4 Qd8 22.Qd3 Qb6 23.b3 Qb5 24.a4 Qxb3 25.Reb1 Qc4 26.Qd2 a5 27.Ne5 Qa6 28.h5 f6 29.Ned3 Nc4 30.Qa2 b6 31.g4 Nfd6 32.Re1 Qb7 33.Ne6 Qd7 34.Ndf4 Re7 35.Re2 Rae8 36.Rae1 Nf7 37.Qb1 Ng5 38.Nxg5 fxg5 39.Rxe7 Rxe7 40.Nd3 Re6 41.Ne5 Qe7 42.Re2 h6 43.Qf5 Rf6 44.Qc8+ Qf8 45.Qxf8+ Rxf8 46.Nxc6 Kf7 47.Re7+ Kf6 48.Rd7 Rc8 49.Ne7 Ke6 50.Ra7 Rf8 51.Nf5 Rf7 52.Nxg7+ Kf6 53.Rxf7+ Kxf7 54.Nf5 Nb2 55.Ke2 Nxa4 56.Nxh6+ Kf6 57.Kd3 Nb2+ 58.Kc2 Nc4 59.Nf5 b5 60.h6 Kg6 61.Ne7+ Kxh6 62.Nxd5 Kg6 63.Nc7 Nd6 64.Kb3 Kf6 65.Nd5+ Ke6 66.Ne3 Kd7 67.Ng2 Kc6 68.f4 Ne4 69.fxg5 Nxg5 70.Nf4 Ne4 71.Nh3 a4+ 72.Kb4 a3 73.Kxa3 Nxc3 74.g5 Kd5 75.g6 Ne4 76.Ng5 Nf6 77.Nf3 Ke4 78.g7 Kf5 79.Ne5 Kg5 80.Kb4 1-0
Wesley So: "It's just so hard to forget the game when someone plays f3, Kf2 and crushes you - it's just so humiliating!"
St. Louis Rapid & Blitz
5+3
Round 27, September 19
Nakamura, Hikaru – Xiong, Jeffery
C20 King’s Pawn game (Bongcloud ?)
1.e4 e5 2.Ke2 Nf6 3.d3 d5 4.Nd2 Nc6 5.c3 b6 6.Qc2 Bb7 7.Ngf3 Qd7 8.b4 O-O-O 9.a3 Kb8 10.Bb2 g6 11.Ke1 Bh6 12.Rd1 Rhe8 13.Be2 Nh5 14.b5 Na5 15.c4 Nf4 16.Bf1 dxc4 17.dxc4 f5 18.c5 fxe4 19.c6 Nxc6 20.bxc6 Bxc6 21.Nxe5 Nd3+ 22.Bxd3 exd3 23.Qc4 Bxg2 24.Rg1 Bb7 25.Qh4 Qf5 26.Qxh6 Rxe5+ 27.Bxe5 Qxe5+ 28.Qe3 Qxh2 29.Kf1 Qh5 30.f3 Bc6 31.Qg5 Qh3+ 32.Kf2 Qh2+ 33.Rg2 Qd6 34.Re1 Rf8 35.Kg1 Rf5 36.Qe7 Qf4 37.Qd8+ Kb7 38.Qxd3 Rd5 39.Qe3 Qh4 40.Qf2 Qa4 41.Re3 Qd1+ 42.Qe1 Qa4 43.Rc3 Rh5 44.Rg4 Qa5 45.Qc1 Qe5 46.Nf1 Qe6 47.Rgc4 Bb5 48.Rxc7+ Ka6 49.a4 Be2 50.Re3 Rg5+ 51.Kf2 Qh3 52.Kxe2 1-0
September 30, 2020
From Wikipedia:
The Bongcloud Attack is a "joke" chess opening that consists of the moves
1.e4 e5
2.Ke2?!
The opening is named after the bong, a device designed for smoking cannabis and tobacco.
As a joke opening, the Bongcloud enjoys a cult following within the online chess community. The opening goes against many basic chess principles, including protecting the king and piece coordination. In playing the Bongcloud, white almost immediately puts their king in danger, blocks the diagonals of the bishop and queen, and loses castling privileges, all of which are considered crucial for viable strategies in competitive chess.
The opening is referred to as the "King David's Attack" in some sources (particularly as a response to the Sicilian), and has been called "rather silly".
High-level usage
The Bongcloud Attack has been widely popularized by Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. In 2018 Nakamura played the Bongcloud three times against GM Levon Aronian during the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, winning one of the three games. Nakamura also played the Bongcloud against GM Vladimir Dobrov and GM Wesley So during the 2019 Speed Chess Championship, winning both of those matches. Nakamura further popularized the opening in a YouTube and Twitch series called "Bongcloud Speedrun to 3000 - Aim HIGH".
On September 19, 2020, Nakamura used the attack against GM Jeffery Xiong in the final round of the online St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament and won the game.
Magnus Carlsen has his own variation of the Bongcloud where he plays c3, f3, Qa4, Qh4, Kd1, and Qe1, essentially switching the positions of the King and Queen, which takes at least 6 moves to perform and gives a severe handicap to the opponent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongcloud_Attack
From chess24 today:
Carlsen plays Bongcloud to win Banter Series
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen won after starting 1.f3, 2.Kf2 - the notoriously bad “Bongcloud” opening - on his way to beating Wesley So 5.5:3.5 to claim the $12,000 top prize in the chess24 Banter Series. Wesley struggled to get over losing that game and was still lamenting “that’s just so humiliating” two games later. He struck some blows of his own, though, and pushed Magnus all the way until a relieved World Champion summed up, “what a battle!” at the end.
https://chess24.com/en/read/news/car...-banter-series
Games
Chess24 Banter Series Final
3+2
Game 1, September 29
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
A00 Bongcloud/Hammerschlag Opening
1.f3 e5 2.Kf2 d5 3.e3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Ne7 5.d4 a6 6.Ba4 exd4 7.exd4 Nf5 8.Ne2 Bd6 9.c3 O-O 10.Nd2 Re8 11.Nf1 Bd7 12.Bc2 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qf6 14.Bf4 Nce7 15.Bxd6 Nxd6 16.Ne3 Bf5 17.Nf4 c6 18.Re1 Qh6 19.h4 Qf6 20.Bxf5 Nexf5 21.Ng4 Qd8 22.Qd3 Qb6 23.b3 Qb5 24.a4 Qxb3 25.Reb1 Qc4 26.Qd2 a5 27.Ne5 Qa6 28.h5 f6 29.Ned3 Nc4 30.Qa2 b6 31.g4 Nfd6 32.Re1 Qb7 33.Ne6 Qd7 34.Ndf4 Re7 35.Re2 Rae8 36.Rae1 Nf7 37.Qb1 Ng5 38.Nxg5 fxg5 39.Rxe7 Rxe7 40.Nd3 Re6 41.Ne5 Qe7 42.Re2 h6 43.Qf5 Rf6 44.Qc8+ Qf8 45.Qxf8+ Rxf8 46.Nxc6 Kf7 47.Re7+ Kf6 48.Rd7 Rc8 49.Ne7 Ke6 50.Ra7 Rf8 51.Nf5 Rf7 52.Nxg7+ Kf6 53.Rxf7+ Kxf7 54.Nf5 Nb2 55.Ke2 Nxa4 56.Nxh6+ Kf6 57.Kd3 Nb2+ 58.Kc2 Nc4 59.Nf5 b5 60.h6 Kg6 61.Ne7+ Kxh6 62.Nxd5 Kg6 63.Nc7 Nd6 64.Kb3 Kf6 65.Nd5+ Ke6 66.Ne3 Kd7 67.Ng2 Kc6 68.f4 Ne4 69.fxg5 Nxg5 70.Nf4 Ne4 71.Nh3 a4+ 72.Kb4 a3 73.Kxa3 Nxc3 74.g5 Kd5 75.g6 Ne4 76.Ng5 Nf6 77.Nf3 Ke4 78.g7 Kf5 79.Ne5 Kg5 80.Kb4 1-0
Wesley So: "It's just so hard to forget the game when someone plays f3, Kf2 and crushes you - it's just so humiliating!"
St. Louis Rapid & Blitz
5+3
Round 27, September 19
Nakamura, Hikaru – Xiong, Jeffery
C20 King’s Pawn game (Bongcloud ?)
1.e4 e5 2.Ke2 Nf6 3.d3 d5 4.Nd2 Nc6 5.c3 b6 6.Qc2 Bb7 7.Ngf3 Qd7 8.b4 O-O-O 9.a3 Kb8 10.Bb2 g6 11.Ke1 Bh6 12.Rd1 Rhe8 13.Be2 Nh5 14.b5 Na5 15.c4 Nf4 16.Bf1 dxc4 17.dxc4 f5 18.c5 fxe4 19.c6 Nxc6 20.bxc6 Bxc6 21.Nxe5 Nd3+ 22.Bxd3 exd3 23.Qc4 Bxg2 24.Rg1 Bb7 25.Qh4 Qf5 26.Qxh6 Rxe5+ 27.Bxe5 Qxe5+ 28.Qe3 Qxh2 29.Kf1 Qh5 30.f3 Bc6 31.Qg5 Qh3+ 32.Kf2 Qh2+ 33.Rg2 Qd6 34.Re1 Rf8 35.Kg1 Rf5 36.Qe7 Qf4 37.Qd8+ Kb7 38.Qxd3 Rd5 39.Qe3 Qh4 40.Qf2 Qa4 41.Re3 Qd1+ 42.Qe1 Qa4 43.Rc3 Rh5 44.Rg4 Qa5 45.Qc1 Qe5 46.Nf1 Qe6 47.Rgc4 Bb5 48.Rxc7+ Ka6 49.a4 Be2 50.Re3 Rg5+ 51.Kf2 Qh3 52.Kxe2 1-0
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