Trompowsky Attack
White immediately questions Black's kingside knight with the bishop. Exchanging may double Black's pawns but gives up a bishop; judge the resulting activity and center before deciding.
Your plan as White
Use Bg5 to question the f6 knight and decide whether exchanging changes the structure favorably.
The opponent’s plan
Challenge the bishop or contest the center, while checking the effect of doubled pawns.
Watch out: Exchanging on f6 changes the position; doubled pawns are not automatically weak.
Opening game…
Practice this line as White.
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Name, background and sources
Brazilian master Octavio Trompowsky helped popularize this bishop move from the 1920s to the 1940s. Later players adopted it to steer games away from more common defenses.
Read the opening background on Chess.com ↗Lichess opening names and reference lines (CC0)
ChessSum provides original explanatory notes. Related lines are labeled separately. Reference lines illustrate ideas; they are not a claim that every other legal move is wrong.
Watch how the center and piece development change. Each arrow previews the next move.