How to Play the Bongcloud Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Ke2)

2026-11-04 · Openings

The Bongcloud Attack is 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2: White's king walks forward on the second move. It is a joke opening, and objectively a bad one. Stockfish (at depth 18) rates the position after 2.Ke2 about 1.4 pawns in Black's favour, as if White had given away a pawn and a half for nothing. Still, it is great fun in casual and fast games, and knowing how to play it, and how to punish it, teaches a lot about the opening.

e4 e5 Ke2. The Bongcloud Attack. The king has stepped up to e2 on move two.

You can see the position and the moves that usually follow on the Bongcloud Attack page. The name is an internet joke, and the opening became a meme in fast online chess, where a weak move costs less and a laugh is worth a lot.

Why 2.Ke2 is a bad move

Every good opening move does at least one useful thing: it develops a piece, fights for the centre or makes the king safer. 2.Ke2 does none of these, and it does several harmful things at once:

It blocks two pieces. The king on e2 stands in the way of the queen on d1 and the bishop on f1, so both stay at home.
It gives up castling for the whole game. Once the king has moved, castling is gone for good, even if the king walks back to e1 later.
It wastes a move. In the opening every move counts. While White moves the king, Black brings out a knight or a pawn to the centre.
It puts the king on an open line. If the e-pawns are exchanged, the king on e2 stands on an open file, where Black's rook and queen can attack it.

None of this loses by force. White is not losing a piece or getting mated in a few moves; White simply starts the game with a clearly worse position. That is why strong players can afford it against weaker opponents in fast games, and why it is a bad idea in a serious game.

How to play it as White

If you play the Bongcloud for fun, play it sensibly from move three on. The plan is simple: free your pieces, keep the centre, and bring the king back to safety.

Play d3 early. The pawn supports e4 and opens a diagonal for the bishop on c1.
Develop your knights to f3 and c3, as in any other opening.
Walk the king home. Surprisingly often Stockfish's best move is simply Ke1, putting the king back where it started. Castling is no longer possible, but the king is safer on e1 than on e2, and the queen and bishop are free again.
Tuck the king away by hand later, for example with Be2, then Kf1 and g3 and Kg2, so that the rooks can join the game.

e4 e5 Ke2 Nf6 d3 d5 exd5 Nxd5 Ke1 Nc6 Nf3 Bc5 Be2. Stockfish's main line. White's king has gone back to e1 and the pieces are developing, but Black has the freer game: Stockfish rates it about two pawns better for Black.

The important lesson is in that line: the king walk did not lose anything concrete, it lost time. Black has three pieces out and a strong knight in the centre, while White is still catching up. If you enjoy the Bongcloud, enjoy it as a challenge: you are giving your opponent a head start and trying to outplay them anyway.

One more detail: against 2...Bc5, which aims the bishop at f2, Stockfish's choice for White is 3.Ke1 at once. The king goes straight back and the f2 pawn is defended again.

How to punish it as Black

Do not try to mate the king on e2 at once. It is not as weak as it looks, and early attacks with the queen usually backfire. Instead, use the extra time the way any opening principle tells you to:

Develop quickly. ...Nf6, ...Nc6, ...Bc5 and ...d5 are all good. Stockfish's top choices after 2.Ke2 are exactly these calm developing moves.
Open the centre. The pawn break ...d5 attacks e4 and opens lines while White's king is still in the middle.
Aim at the e-file. If the e-pawns come off, a rook on e8 points straight at the king.

e4 e5 Ke2 d5 exd5 Qxd5 Nc3 Qe6. Black strikes with ...d5 at once. After the exchange the queen steps to e6, out of the knight's reach, and Stockfish still rates Black about 1.5 pawns better.

Two replies to avoid

2...Qh4 looks aggressive, since it attacks the e4 pawn and eyes f2, but it brings the queen out too early. After 3.Nc3, which defends e4, White can follow with g3 to chase the queen away, and Stockfish's edge for Black shrinks from about 1.4 pawns to about 0.3.

2...Ke7, copying White, is the famous Double Bongcloud. It is funny, but it hands back the whole advantage: with both kings on the second rank the position is about equal again, because Black has made the same mistake as White.

e4 e5 Ke2 Ke7. The Double Bongcloud. Black copies the king walk, and the position is about level again.

When is it fine to play?

Play it when the result does not matter much and you want to have fun: casual games with friends, very fast games, or games against a much weaker opponent. Do not play it in a rated game you care about, against a strong player, or in a slow game, where your opponent has time to find the best way to use the extra tempo.

If you want to try it safely, play it against our human-like computer at a level close to yours: it plays like a real opponent, so you will see how people react to the king walk. And if you enjoy kings that do strange things, try the Gangster King, where both kings move like a different piece every day.

Key points

The Bongcloud Attack is 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2. It blocks the queen and bishop, gives up castling and wastes a move.
It does not lose by force, but Stockfish rates it about 1.4 pawns worse for White.
As White, play d3, develop the knights and often walk the king back to e1.
As Black, develop fast and open the centre with ...d5. Avoid ...Qh4 and the Double Bongcloud, which give the advantage back.
For the principles behind all of this, read how to develop your pieces.