The Hidden Beauty Of Newly Named Wrongcloud Opening

Today's opening theory is the culmination of hundreds of years of meticulous study by the brightest chess minds and strongest chess engines. It is an extensive and minutious body of work built on the dedication and sacrifice of men and women who have devoted their lives to the game. As a result, virtually every opening move has been extensively studied and dissected.

And yet, until very recently, the opening 1.f3 2.Kf2 had no name. To remedy the situation, we ran a contest on our Discord channel, inviting the brightest and most creative minds among our community members to come up with a new name for this flamboyant opening.

And thus, the Wrongcloud was born:

To celebrate this opening's new name, I'll share some incredible stats and games in the infamous Wrongcloud.

Almost As Good As The Open Sicilian?

Purists may look at 1.f3 and 2.Kf2 and feel offended. Some may say it's the very thing that corrupts chess and ruins the game's beauty. But how bad is it really in practice?

Of the 2,738,281 games played on Chess.com with this opening between October 19, 2009, and July 20, 2024, White has a 50.17% score. That's just 2% lower than what masters score in the Open Sicilian if Black goes for the Najdorf (the most popular response to 1.e4, by the way).

Does this really mean that the Wrongcloud is almost as good as the Open Sicilian? No. It's objectively a terrible opening, and this comparison makes no sense. But your chances of getting a few laughs are much higher if you go for the Wrongcloud instead of the Sicilian, so why not give it a try? 

The Opening Of The Chess Elite

We've all heard that a player needs to study the games of the masters to improve. So, I present you with a few games played by the chess elite. 

We start with the one and only GM Hikaru Nakamura. On one of his speedrun accounts, the world number-three had a 95.3% win rate in this opening and an impressive 2835 performance rating on Chess.com. Here, we see how Hikaru could defeat a grandmaster rated 2800 on Chess.com, probably only thanks to the Wrongcloud. Sit back and enjoy this epic battle with in-depth annotations by GM Rafael Leitao:

Hikaru is not the only player who has used this powerful opening to get a win. Here is one of the strongest Indian players ever, GM Nihal Sarin, defeating an international master with the power of 2.Kf2. Behold:

Do you want more? Here's how speed chess behemoth GM Oleksandr Bortnyk defeated a 3000-rated FM with 1.f3 and 2.Kf2 in a bullet game. He even took it a step further by playing the aggressive 3.Ke3!!, a move that was probably the fruit of intense home opening preparation:

The Opening Of The People

The Wrongcloud has not only found its way into the games of the masters but also into the hearts of the masses. We've searched our database for this opening's most devoted fans and found that some of our members have tens of thousands of games starting with 1.f3 2.Kf2. 

At the top of the list is the courageous @Stoney3131, who has played this opening more than 50,000 times. Next come @Theurel and @nicolob, with 33,649 and 29,207, respectively. 

Below is the list of the top-10 most avid Wrongcloud players on Chess.com. These are the unsung heroes who are helping advance the theory of this marvelous opening:

Conclusion

Looking at these stats and games, one thing becomes clear: naming this opening was long overdue. But you can finally rest knowing that every time you feel the urge to push your king to f3 on move two, you can finally look up and confidently declare: "Yes, I play the Wrongcloud, too."

Have you ever played the Wrongcloud and won? Share your most fantastic game in this opening in the comment section below!