Library/Openings/King's Pawn Game/Wayward Queen Attack/Mellon Gambit ECO C20
Opening· 12 plies

King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, Mellon Gambit

An entry in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings (ECO C20), reached after 12 half-moves: 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nh6 4. d3 g6 5. Qf3 f6 6. Ne2 d5.

King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, Mellon Gambit ECO C20
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About this opening

King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, Mellon Gambit is an opening in the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, classified under code C20. ECO group C (C00–C99) covers open games (1.e4 e5) and the French Defence, including the Ruy Lopez, Italian, Scotch and King's Gambit. This particular variation is reached after 12 half-moves from the starting position, with the move sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nh6 4. d3 g6 5. Qf3 f6 6. Ne2 d5.

It belongs to the King's Pawn Game family. Within that family this is a level-2 branch (the Wayward Queen Attack → Mellon Gambit line). The immediate parent line is King's Pawn Game: Wayward Queen Attack, transitioned via 6…d5.

The opening sequence in prose form: 1.e4 e5, 2.Qh5 Nc6, 3.Bc4 Nh6, 4.d3 g6, 5.Qf3 f6, 6.Ne2 d5. From this position the encyclopaedia records no further canonical continuations — practical play branches into unnamed transpositions or returns to the parent line for alternative ideas.

Use the interactive board above to walk through the moves position-by-position. Click any move in the navigation to step backwards, or use the keyboard arrow keys. For statistical data — how often master-level players have reached this position, White's win-rate, draw frequency, Black's score — see the panel in the right column.

Caissly's coverage of C20 extends through every named sub-variation in this line and across all four locales (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian). Where editorial commentary exists for a specific variation it appears as the page body; otherwise the page presents the structural data, board, and statistics as shown here.