hikaru won bongcloud opening with white

As a joke opening, the Bongcloud enjoys a cult following within the online chess community. The opening goes against many basic chess principles, including protecting the king and piece coordination. In playing the Bongcloud, white almost immediately puts their king in danger, blocks the diagonals of the bishop and queen, and loses castling privileges, all of which are considered crucial for viable strategies in competitive chess.

The opening is referred to as the "King David's Attack" in some sources (particularly as a response to the Sicilian), and has been called "rather silly".

The Bongcloud Attack has been widely popularized by Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. In 2018 Nakamura played the Bongcloud three times against GM Levon Aronian during the Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, winning one of the three games Nakamura also played the Bongcloud against GM Vladimir Dobrov during the 2019 Speed Chess Championship. Nakamura further popularized the opening in a YouTube and Twitch series called "Bongcloud Speedrun to 3000 - Aim HIGH".

On September 19, 2020, Nakamura used the attack against GM Jeffery Xiong in the online St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, winning the game.