How to beat the Trompowsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5: White's bishop eyes your f6 knight, threatening Bxf6 to double your pawns, and skips all your 2.c4 theory. It's a favourite surprise weapon online, and in our sample it was one of the hardest openings for titled players to beat as Black.

Three plans that work

1. Hit the bishop with 2...Ne4

2...Ne4 attacks the bishop at once. After 3.Bf4 c5 or 3...d5 you get quick central play, and White's bishop has already moved twice.

2. Or play 2...e6 and recapture with the queen

If White takes on f6 you answer ...Qxf6, keeping a healthy pawn structure plus the bishop pair. ...d5 or ...d6 and ...c5 follow naturally.

3. Accept doubled pawns when they come with the bishops

In the 2...c5 and 2...d5 lines, Bxf6 gives you the two bishops and open lines. Don't fear the structure: play actively, aim your bishops at White's king and queenside, and hit d4.

A line to play

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 h6 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.Nc3 d6

The pitfall

Playing your usual 1.d4 set-up on autopilot. Decide before the game how you will recapture if White takes on f6, and don't leave your queen out grabbing pawns on b2 while undeveloped.

What the data says

Facing the Trompowsky Attack as Black, the titled players scored 51% in 48 games (their average as Black: 62%). That's below their average, so it's a tough opening to beat even for them.

Most common variations, and how Black scored

Variation (Lichess name)	Games	Black's score
Trompowsky Attack	39	55%

Titled players who play it most: FM chessmem (22 games, 68%), GM enmQ (16 games, 62%), GM Chewbacca18 (12 games, 50%), IM AngelitoRT (8 games, 44%), IM Lukas-2010 (6 games, 75%).

Data: 13,865 recent rated games of 100 top titled Lichess players (mostly blitz and bullet), fetched from the public Lichess API on 2026-10-18. Scores are the titled player's (win = 1, draw = ½). Across all their games as Black they scored 62%, so compare against that, not 50%.

Prepare against the actual player

Averages only go so far. A Trompowsky Attack player has their own pet variations and weak spots. Before your next game, get a free fingerprint of your opponent, or get the full prep report ($5): every variation they play, where they score worst, and a game plan for both colours.