Queen's Pawn Game: Levitsky Attack for White

The Queen's Pawn Game: Levitsky Attack is about an early bishop move that puts immediate pressure on Black's centre and development. You are not trying to win by force on move two; you are trying to steer the game into a solid, playable middlegame where your pieces make sense and Black has to respond carefully. Because the position is so close to equal, good piece placement and simple plans matter more than memorising sharp tricks.

At this exact position, Black has a range of natural continuations, so you need to be ready for several setups rather than one fixed line. The most-played replies are Nc6, h6, f6, Nf6, Bf5, and c6. The engine's best move is f6, and the listed continuation is f6 Bf4 Nc6 Bg3. In practice, that means Black is comfortable asking your bishop what it wants to do, while you must stay calm and keep your pieces coordinated.

Across 4,459,574 games at this exact position, White wins 53.4%, draws 3.8%, and Black wins 42.8%. That tells you the position is playable for White and has plenty of practical life, even though the engine evaluation is slightly better for Black. The results from the database are not a promise, but they do show that this is a normal opening position where both sides score well enough to keep the game going.

If you want to play this opening confidently, start by getting familiar with the moves Black chooses most often. Nc6 appears in 920,784 games, h6 in 910,591 games, f6 in 844,748 games, Nf6 in 703,397 games, Bf5 in 426,979 games, and c6 in 162,885 games. You do not need to memorise a long book line here. You do need to recognise that Black has many sensible developing moves, so your own plan should stay flexible and focused on development, king safety, and smooth piece coordination.