Chess Champion Plays ‘Bongcloud Attack’, Which Is Very Funny

Norway’s Magnus Carlsen is a chess grandmaster, the current world champion, as well as world #1 in rapid and blitz chess as well. He is very good at chess, but in this match against fellow grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, he opens by playing one of the worst possible sequences of moves in the entire game.

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The opening, consisting of the moves e4 e5 followed by Ke2, has been nicknamed the “Bongcloud Attack” because it’s assumed only someone high as fuck would even attempt it. Even its wikipedia page lists it as a “meme opening”, because not only does it leave the King exposed and blocks both the queen and bishop, but it also burns through moves having to recover from it.

Nakamura has made it a bit of a thing, though, using it previously and even winning some competitive matches with it, and so here’s Carlsen busting it out against him in a dead rubber encounter during Carlsen’s own tournament (that would eventually end in a draw).

I don’t know enough about chess to truly appreciate the move. I just like how funny it is to everyone who does.

The post Chess Champion Plays ‘Bongcloud Attack’, Which Is Very Funny appeared first on Kotaku Australia.