Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Ke2

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8a8 black rookb8 black knightc8 black bishopd8 black queene8 black kingf8 black bishopg8 black knighth8 black rook8
7a7 black pawnb7 black pawnc7 black pawnd7 black pawne7 black kingf7 black pawng7 black pawnh7 black pawn7
6a6 black kingb6 black kingc6 black kingd6 black kinge6 black kingf6 black kingg6 black kingh6 black king6
5a5 black kingb5 black kingc5 black kingd5 black kinge5 black pawnf5 black kingg5 black kingh5 black king5
4a4 black kingb4 black kingc4 black kingd4 black kinge4 white pawnf4 black kingg4 black kingh4 black king4
3a3 black kingb3 black kingc3 black kingd3 black kinge3 black kingf3 black kingg3 black kingh3 black king3
2a2 white pawnb2 white pawnc2 white pawnd2 white pawne2 white kingf2 white pawng2 white pawnh2 white pawn2
1a1 white rookb1 white knightc1 white bishopd1 white queene1 black kingf1 white bishopg1 white knighth1 white rook1
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Bongcloud Attack

Bongcloud Attack

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2. Ke2

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Ke2 is an interesting move. It significantly worsens White's position by exposing the king, giving up the right to castle, blocking in the queen and bishop, and providing no improvement to White's position. All that being said, it can be used as a surprise to unseat Black. Also, due to the dubiousness of the opening, it can be used as a form of handicap. An early 'joke' idea of this opening is to prepare for an early endgame by developing the king.

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

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