It is considered a joke opening, and is associated with internet chess humor. Being a poor move, its usage can suggest a self-imposed challenge. Twitch streamers such as GrandmasterHikaru Nakamura have used it in online blitz chess, including in games against high-level opponents, as has World Chess ChampionMagnus Carlsen. 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 from Chess.com user "Lenny_Bongcloud", who used the opening with little success,[1] or more generally in reference to a bong, a device used to smoke cannabis, a humorous assertion that one would need to be intoxicated to think that using the opening is a legitimate strategy. The opening's usage in chess humor was furthered by Andrew Fabbro's joke manual Winning With the Bongcloud.[2][3]
The Bongcloud Attack violates several accepted principles of chess strategy by forgoing castling, impeding the movement of both the queen and the light-squared bishop, leaving the king exposed, wasting a tempo, 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. In a Twitter post, English Grandmaster Nigel Short described the opening as an "insult to chess".[4][5]
High-level usage
GM Hikaru Nakamura has used the Bongcloud Attack in online blitz games. He streamed himself using the opening exclusively on a new Chess.com account and reached 3000 rating.[3] In 2018, Nakamura played the Bongcloud three times against GM Levon Aronian during the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, winning one and losing two.[6] Nakamura also played the Bongcloud against GM Vladimir Dobrov in the 3+1 section and GM Wesley So in the 1+1 section of the 2019 Speed Chess Championship, winning both of those matches.[7][8] On September 19, 2020, Nakamura used the opening against GM Jeffery Xiong in the final round of the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament which was played on Lichess with a 5+3 time control and won the game.[9]
On March 15, 2021, Magnus Carlsen, playing white, led with the Bongcloud in a game against Nakamura at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. Nakamura mirrored the opening with 2. ... Ke7, leading to a position nicknamed the "Double Bongcloud".[3] The game was intentionally drawn by threefold repetition after the players immediately repeated moves, the particular sequence they used known as the "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 dead rubber. It marked the first recorded occurrence of 1. e4 e5 2. Ke2 Ke7 in a major tournament.[3][10]
Despite its obvious disadvantages, usage of such a "joke" opening can also have a psychological impact: following Carlsen's win over Wesley So in a 2020 blitz tournament with a 3+2 time control where he played 1.f3 (the Barnes Opening) followed by 2.Kf2 – a variant also named the "Bongcloud"[11][12] – So noted that losing the game after such an opening had a crushing impact.[3]
The first use of the joke opening in a FIDE rated game between top grandmasters occurred during the Chess.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 GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda played 1.e3 and 2.Ke2. Duda lost the game after missing some chances to equalise.[13]
The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of: Bongcloud Attack
^Nicholas, Bergh (19 March 2021). "Carlsen fikk latterkrampe. «Bringer sjakken i vanry», mener sjakktopp" [Carlsen breaks into fit of laughter. "Brings the game of chess into disrepute", opines chess Grandmaster]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
^Fabbro, Andrew (28 January 2020). Winning with the Bongcloud. ISBN979-8605806851.
^ abcdeGraham, Bryan Armen (18 March 2021). "Double bongcloud: why grandmasters are playing the worst move in chess". The Guardian. from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^Nigel Short [@nigelshortchess] (17 March 2021). "Mike Basman used to shock by playing 1.e4 g5!? Although not quite as solid as the Berlin, at least this took control of the f4 square & prepared an extended fianchetto. It was highly provocative, but not an insult to chess - unlike some Twitch generation openings I could name" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Bostock, Bill (18 March 2021). "'The Queen's Gambit' and the pandemic injected new life into the multimillion-dollar chess industry, with esports teams and sponsors rushing to snap up the game's Twitch stars". Insider. Nigel Short, a British grandmaster, also called the Bongcloud "an insult to chess."
^Copeland, Sam. "Nakamura Beats Aronian In Speed Chess, Loses In Bullet". Chess.com. from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
^Steincamp, Isaac (1 October 2019). "Nakamura Routs Dobrov In Speed Chess Championship". Chess.com. from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
^Doggers, Peter (15 March 2022). "Hikaru Nakamura Wins 2019 Speed Chess Championship". Chess.com. from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
^Backhouse, Andrew (21 September 2020). "Chess star Magnus Carlsen makes a late, shirtless cameo". news.com.au. from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2021. 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.
^Gault, Matthew (16 March 2021). "Chess World Champion Plays 'Bongcloud Attack' Meme Opening in Tournament". Vice. from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^Barden, Leonard (2 October 2020). "Chess: Carlsen wins with 1 f3 as Play Magnus raises $42m in Oslo listing". The Guardian. from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
^Satumbaga-Villar, Kristel (1 October 2020). "Magnus Carlsen shows Wesley So who's boss". Manila Bulletin. from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
^"Perfect 4-0 Day For Nakamura, Dismantles Bongcloud In CGC Finals". Chess.com. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
January 06, 2023
bongcloud, attack, bongcloud, opening, unorthodox, chess, opening, that, consists, moves, abcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghmoves1, ke2ecoc20parentopen, game, considered, joke, opening, associated, with, internet, chess, humor, being, poor, move, usage, suggest,. The Bongcloud Attack or Bongcloud Opening is an unorthodox chess opening that consists of the moves Bongcloud Attackabcdefgh8877665544332211abcdefghMoves1 e4 e5 2 Ke2ECOC20ParentOpen Game 1 e4 e5 2 Ke2 It is considered a joke opening and is associated with internet chess humor Being a poor move its usage can suggest a self imposed challenge Twitch streamers such as Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura have used it in online blitz chess including in games against high level opponents as has World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen The name has also been applied to other opening sequences in which a player moves the king on move two Contents 1 Background 2 High level usage 3 See also 4 ReferencesBackground EditThe opening s name is thought to originate either from Chess com user Lenny Bongcloud who used the opening with little success 1 or more generally in reference to a bong a device used to smoke cannabis a humorous assertion that one would need to be intoxicated to think that using the opening is a legitimate strategy The opening s usage in chess humor was furthered by Andrew Fabbro s joke manual Winning With the Bongcloud 2 3 The Bongcloud Attack violates several accepted principles of chess strategy by forgoing castling impeding the movement of both the queen and the light squared bishop leaving the king exposed wasting a tempo 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 In a Twitter post English Grandmaster Nigel Short described the opening as an insult to chess 4 5 High level usage EditGM Hikaru Nakamura has used the Bongcloud Attack in online blitz games He streamed himself using the opening exclusively on a new Chess com account and reached 3000 rating 3 In 2018 Nakamura played the Bongcloud three times against GM Levon Aronian during the Chess com Speed Chess Championship winning one and losing two 6 Nakamura also played the Bongcloud against GM Vladimir Dobrov in the 3 1 section and GM Wesley So in the 1 1 section of the 2019 Speed Chess Championship winning both of those matches 7 8 On September 19 2020 Nakamura used the opening against GM Jeffery Xiong in the final round of the St Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament which was played on Lichess with a 5 3 time control and won the game 9 On March 15 2021 Magnus Carlsen playing white led with the Bongcloud in a game against Nakamura at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational Nakamura mirrored the opening with 2 Ke7 leading to a position nicknamed the Double Bongcloud 3 The game was intentionally drawn by threefold repetition after the players immediately repeated moves the particular sequence they used known as the 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 dead rubber It marked the first recorded occurrence of 1 e4 e5 2 Ke2 Ke7 in a major tournament 3 10 Despite its obvious disadvantages usage of such a joke opening can also have a psychological impact following Carlsen s win over Wesley So in a 2020 blitz tournament with a 3 2 time control where he played 1 f3 the Barnes Opening followed by 2 Kf2 a variant also named the Bongcloud 11 12 So noted that losing the game after such an opening had a crushing impact 3 The first use of the joke opening in a FIDE rated game between top grandmasters occurred during the Chess 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 GM Jan Krzysztof Duda played 1 e3 and 2 Ke2 Duda lost the game after missing some chances to equalise 13 See also EditIrregular chess openingReferences Edit The Wikibook Chess Opening Theory has a page on the topic of Bongcloud Attack Nicholas Bergh 19 March 2021 Carlsen fikk latterkrampe Bringer sjakken i vanry mener sjakktopp Carlsen breaks into fit of laughter Brings the game of chess into disrepute opines chess Grandmaster Aftenposten in Norwegian Archived from the original on 19 April 2021 Retrieved 20 March 2021 Fabbro Andrew 28 January 2020 Winning with the Bongcloud ISBN 979 8605806851 a b c d e Graham Bryan Armen 18 March 2021 Double bongcloud why grandmasters are playing the worst move in chess The Guardian Archived from the original on 18 March 2021 Retrieved 19 March 2021 Nigel Short nigelshortchess 17 March 2021 Mike Basman used to shock by playing 1 e4 g5 Although not quite as solid as the Berlin at least this took control of the f4 square amp prepared an extended fianchetto It was highly provocative but not an insult to chess unlike some Twitch generation openings I could name Tweet via Twitter Bostock Bill 18 March 2021 The Queen s Gambit and the pandemic injected new life into the multimillion dollar chess industry with esports teams and sponsors rushing to snap up the game s Twitch stars Insider Nigel Short a British grandmaster also called the Bongcloud an insult to chess Copeland Sam Nakamura Beats Aronian In Speed Chess Loses In Bullet Chess com Archived from the original on 3 December 2020 Retrieved 2 September 2020 Steincamp Isaac 1 October 2019 Nakamura Routs Dobrov In Speed Chess Championship Chess com Archived from the original on 9 October 2020 Retrieved 2 September 2020 Doggers Peter 15 March 2022 Hikaru Nakamura Wins 2019 Speed Chess Championship Chess com Archived from the original on 11 November 2020 Retrieved 20 September 2020 Backhouse Andrew 21 September 2020 Chess star Magnus Carlsen makes a late shirtless cameo news com au Archived from the original on 21 September 2020 Retrieved 12 July 2021 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 Gault Matthew 16 March 2021 Chess World Champion Plays Bongcloud Attack Meme Opening in Tournament Vice Archived from the original on 19 March 2021 Retrieved 19 March 2021 Barden Leonard 2 October 2020 Chess Carlsen wins with 1 f3 as Play Magnus raises 42m in Oslo listing The Guardian Archived from the original on 3 October 2020 Retrieved 2 October 2020 Satumbaga Villar Kristel 1 October 2020 Magnus Carlsen shows Wesley So who s boss Manila Bulletin Archived from the original on 9 July 2021 Retrieved 19 March 2021 Perfect 4 0 Day For Nakamura Dismantles Bongcloud In CGC Finals Chess com 2 November 2022 Retrieved 2 November 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bongcloud Attack amp oldid 1131383850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
