Amazon Attack
The queen strides out on move two: an opening that breaks the first rule of development and dares Black to prove why the rule exists.
1.d4 d5 2.Qd3 puts the queen on a square her own army wants. D3 belongs to the light-squared bishop, and the queen standing there gets in everyone's way. The point is support for a quick e4 push plus a couple of tricks on the queen's new diagonals. Played by someone prepared, it is a one-game surprise. Played on principle, it is a tempo offered to Black.
Black collects the tempo with almost anything sensible. ...Nf6, ...Nc6 and ...e6 all develop while the queen sits misplaced. ...c5 strikes at d4 at the exact moment the queen has wandered away from defending it. This move is what the database says punishes White hardest. The opening's whole practical case rests on one trick: the natural-looking 2...Bf5, attacking the queen. It walks into a check on b5 that wins a pawn.
That is the Amazon Attack in full: one real trap, a few move-order tricks, and then a middlegame where White must prove a misplaced queen doesn't matter. Sometimes, at club level, it doesn't. Usually it does.
White wants e4 next. This turns the opening into a gambit-flavored center grab, or a quick Nc3 and long castling with the queen supporting a kingside pawn storm. The honest version of the plan is speed: get the king away, push pawns, and hope the queen becomes an attacker before Black's extra development becomes an initiative. White must stay alert for ...c5 and ...Nb4 hits. The queen will usually have to move again, and the setup only works if that lost time bought something concrete.
Black develops normally and lets the queen's position pay off later. ...Nf6, ...Nc6 and ...e6 are all comfortable, and a well-timed ...c5 opens the position while the queen blocks her own bishop's best square. The only discipline required is not to grab at the queen carelessly. Develop toward her, not at her. Get castled, break with ...c5 or ...e5, and the extra tempo turns into a lasting pull.
At club level (1600-2000 on Lichess), 2.Qd3 shows up in fewer than one 1.d4 d5 game in a thousand: about 210,000 games in the database. Every normal reply scores well for Black: 2...Nf6 (37.3% of games) scores 53%, 2...Nc6 (23.7%) scores 51%, 2...e6 (16.9%) scores 51%, and the sharpest choice, 2...c5 (4.1%), scores best of all at 58%. The exception proves the trap: 2...Bf5 scores just 39% for Black. See below.
The one real point of the opening. 2...Bf5 looks perfect: develop the bishop, hit the queen. But it abandons b7: 3.Qb5+ forces a block and 4.Qxb7 wins the pawn while Black's queenside is still asleep. The database shows the damage: Black scores 39% after 2...Bf5 against 51-53% for the normal developing moves. Knights first; the bishop can wait.
- Family
- Amazon Attack
- Category
- Closed
- First move
- 1.d4
- ECO
- D00
- Line
- 1. d4 d5 2. Qd3