Open Game Gambits: Napoleon Attack
The Napoleon's early queen raid — historically famous, objectively dubious.
Open Game Gambits: Napoleon Attack is one of the most compelling entries in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings — and a line that repays every hour you sink into it.
After 2.Qf3 the position resolves into a tense centre: the central pawns still face each other, and the timing and manner of the coming exchange shapes the whole middlegame.
This is a branch of the Open Game Gambits. If you are new to the system, start with the parent guide and return here when you want to go one move deeper.
The moves
After 2. Qf3 — Open Game Gambits: Napoleon Attack main line
Position breakdown
A factual read of the position after the main line — the files, the centre, the pawn structure and king safety that decide how the middlegame is played. These are computed from the actual board, not generic advice.
Files
Centre control
Tense centre
The d4/d5/e4/e5 squares — who occupies the centre decides how open the game becomes.
Pawn skeleton
Pawns only — the structure that explains every open file and majority at a glance.
Material level
Queenside pawns 3–3
Kingside pawns 3–3
Development
No minor pieces developed yet
No minor pieces developed yet
King safety
White king e1
Uncastled — take care
Black king e8
Uncastled — take care
Computed from the final position of the main line above — 3 plies, black to move.
Strategic ideas
Ideas for White
Sacrifice for development, open lines and direct attacks on f7/f2 — every gambit is a bet that initiative beats material.
Ideas for Black
Return material at the right moment for safe structures, or defend precisely and punish the overextended attacker.
Plans & pawn structures
- 1The central tension is the key decision: releasing it too early hands the opponent a free tempo and a target, so keep it until a capture wins a file, a diagonal or a clear structural edge.
- 2Watch the pawn breaks — both yours and your opponent's. In these structures the player who times the central break better usually wins the game.
- 3Trade correctly: before every exchange ask which piece benefits from the resulting square colours and pawn structure.
Typical middlegame structures
The main line leads to a tense centre: the central pawns still face each other, and the timing and manner of the coming exchange shapes the whole middlegame. No files have opened yet, so this is a manoeuvring struggle: improve your pieces and prepare the pawn break that will open the position on your terms.
Traps & tactical motifs
The Danish's ...the classic ...Bb4+ checks and f7 hits decide the early skirmishes.
How to Play Against the Napoleon Attack
- As Black, resolve the central tension on your terms: force the exchange that gives you the better structure rather than letting the opponent choose the moment.
Masters & history
Study plan & who it's for
Very easy to learn and hard to hate: clear development schemes, natural moves and forgiving structures make this a superb first choice for White players.
Play through the main line above until the piece setup feels natural.
Learn the two or three critical pawn breaks for both sides.
Drill one variation at a time — always connecting moves to plans.