The Bongcloud: A Modern Analysis

By Graquille Oneal (W.) modelodrunk (1319) vs. (B.) GraquilleOneal (1290) | 1 min. blitz

1. d4?

White starts right off with the blunder 1. d4. Attempting to avoid the main variation of the Bongcloud, White instead puts himself in a worse position. Better moves for White are 1. Na3, 1. a4, or the best move, playing the Bongcloud himself with 1. e4. e5! Black responds with the Bongcloud Gambit. This move not only challenges the center, but it also immediately sets up possibilities for King development later on. White is already on the verge of collapse and put in a difficult situation

Position after 1. d4? e5! 2. e3? Ke7!

2. e3? Ke7! White responds with the questionable Alapin Defense. Although there are admittedly very few good defenses against the Bongcloud, the Alapin Defense is one of the worst ones, having been extensively criticized by Magnus Carlsen in his 2-page pamphlet, Defenses Against the Bongcloud. Carlsen argues that the Alapin Defense is extremely passive and allows Black to seize initiative. The World Champion instead offers the slightly more aggressive Bongcloud CounterGambit with 2. e4!? White presses the center and puts more pressure on Black. Although White seems to even the game with this move, Black is not prevented from proceeding with the Bongcloud and White is therefore considerably behind. Kasparov seems to have offered the best solution, the Bongcloud Counter-Clockwise-Gambit, with 2. Kd2! Extensive computer analysis has showed this to be the superior defense for White with Black only up by the equivalent of an exchange.

3. dxe5? Ke6! 4. Nf3? Kf5!

White starts to deviate from the standard Alapin Defense and proceeds into uncharted territory. Contrary to the Classic Alapin Defense, White wastes time developing pieces and securing material. Black on the other hand wastes no time and jumps into the Nimzo-Bongcloud in the Rubenstein Defense tree on move 4. Black develops his King on f5, pressuring the pawn on e5 and preventing the black-squared bishop from going to f4 or g5. Other acceptable variations include the BackwardsBongcloud (4. Nf3 Ke7) and the Reverse-Bongcloud (4. Nf3 Kd5).

5. Nc3 Kg6! 6. Bd3+ Kh5!

White is quickly breaking down, exhibiting typical beginner behavior such as developing pieces and not moving the King. Meanwhile, Black has already secured the invaluable h5 square.

7. Nd4+ Kh6 8. e4+ Kg6 9. f4 f6 10. f5+ Kf7 11. exf6 Nxf6

As you can see, Black now has an insurmountable advantage as a result of the Bongcloud. The computer puts Black at approximately 6 pawns up with another half pawn advantage attributed to the undeveloped bishop pair. After the brief reconnaissance mission to h6, the Black King is now back safe and sound at Kf7. White is overdeveloped and risks having an unexposed King at e1. Black perfectly counters Whites plans of development with the Slsky variation of the Bongcloud by not developing his own pieces. This ensures that Blacks pieces will not be in range of Whites pieces. Smart! 12. O-O. White finds an exploit in the game and moves two pieces at once (this will be fixed in the next patch). This move, however, inadvertently protects his King. White is now down 9 pawns according to computer analysis and Black lets the exploit slide.

Bc5 13. Be3 Qe7 14. Ndb5 Bxe3+ 15. Kh1 d6 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Qe5 18. Re1 Re8 19. c4 Qd4 20. Rf1 Qh4 22. Rxf2 Qg4 23. h3 Qg5 24. Raf1 Kf6 25. Nd4 Re5 26. Ne6 Qh5 27. Nxc7 Na6

The benefits of the Bongcloud are clear to see: the Black Queen can now safely reside on the powerful h5 square because the King scouted it out beforehand. Additionally, Whites King is now trapped in the corner, with checkmate as an imminent threat. The computer analysis is no longer working because it predicted that White had already resigned two moves ago due to an unwinnable position.

28. Nxa8??? This is a fatal mistake. White traps his own knight by taking the rook on a8 and will later suffer the consequences as seen by Bd7 29. Nc7 Nxc7!

30. g4 g5 31. Kh2 g6 32. Kg3 gxf5 33. Rxf5+ Bxf5 34. Bxf5 Ne8 35. Bd7+ Kg7

White is forced to run out of time and lose due to Blacks superb play.