Trompowsky Attack
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5
Pin the knight immediately — avoid mainstream theory.
Famous practitioners: Magnus Carlsen, Julian Hodgson, Richard Rapport
Starting position
0 / 3 moves
Key Ideas
- ♟White pins the f6 knight on move 2, avoiding Indian setups
- ♟Forces Black into less-charted territory early
- ♟Can lead to sharp or quiet positions
♔ Plans for White
- —After …Ne4: play Bf4 or Bh4 maintaining the bishop
- —Set up e3, Bd3, Nd2 for a solid structure
- —2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 — aggressive transposition
♚ Plans for Black
- —Play …Ne4 to challenge the bishop immediately
- —…d5 for a solid central presence
- —…c5 to attack the d4 pawn
⚠️ Common Traps & Pitfalls
Raptor Variation
Black challenges the bishop with knight to e4, then pushes c5 — sharp positions where both sides have resources.
📍 Critical Positions
Trompowsky Attack
2.Bg5 — an aggressive surprise weapon. Black must decide how to react to the pin.
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/5n2/6B1/3P4/8/PPP1PPPP/RN1QKBNR b KQkq - 1 2Are you leaking games in the Trompowsky Attack?
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Related Openings
Queen's Gambit
1.d4 d5 2.c4
The queen of openings — classical central control and strategic depth.
London System
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4
The solid system opening — same setup against everything.
Queen's Gambit Declined
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6
Classical and rock-solid — Black maintains the d5 pawn.
Slav Defense
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6
Defend d5 with …c6 — keeps the bishop free to develop.