Bongcloud Attack
1. e4 e5 2. Ke2
The Bongcloud Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO C20, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Ke2. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 360 times by this move order. White won 35%, 4% were drawn and Black won 61%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nc6 (30% of games).
Engine evaluation: −1.37 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 2… Nf6 3. d3 d5 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Bg5)
- ECO
- C20
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/4P3/8/PPPPKPPP/RNBQ1BNR b kq - 1 2- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Ke2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 243 | |
| 1500-1999 | 88 | |
| 2000+ | 29 | |
| All | 360 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nc6 | 107 (30%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 80 (22%) | |
| 2… d6 | 59 (16%) | |
| 2… d5 | 35 (10%) | |
| 2… Bc5 | 31 (9%) | |
| 2… Qh4 | 12 (3%) | |
| 2… b6 | 7 (2%) | |
| 2… Ke7 | 6 (2%) |
Master games
41 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 27%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 1/2-1/2 · Magnus Carlsen Inv Prelim · 2021-03-15
- GM So, W. (2772) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2791) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 2021 · 2021-12-09
- GM So, W. (2772) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 2021 · 2021-12-19
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) – GM So, W. (2772) 1-0 · chess.com Speed 2021 · 2021-12-19
- GM So, W. (2772) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2736) 0-1 · chess.com Speed 2021 · 2021-12-19
Search all games of the Bongcloud Attack and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- joobree (2559) – FM luisangel1808 (2530) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- zlatnakisa33 (2385) – bebitou123 (2438) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Varga_Csaba_Zoltan (2242) – MRKHALEDOR (2415) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 600 + 0s
Comes from
King's Pawn Game (1. e4 e5) 1. e4 e5
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.