The Trompowsky Attack: Classical Defense with e4 — A Guide for Black

In this position, your main goal is to develop harmoniously while keeping the centre under control. The engine's favourite move is e5, which fights for space and opens lines for your pieces. After 4.e5 Nd5, White will likely play 5.Bxe7 Qxe7, leading to a position where you have traded your bishop for a knight — but you gain tempo and a solid pawn structure. Black's winning chances here are excellent (48.0%) and nearly equal to White's, so don't be intimidated by the engine's small evaluation. You are aiming for a healthy middlegame where your queen sits actively on e7 and your knight on d5 can be a nuisance. This is a principled, fighting opening that rewards understanding over memorisation.

The best move in the position, according to Stockfish, is 4.e5. This pushes the knight and grabs space. Your reply is 4...Nd5, the only natural square, after which White almost always trades bishops with 5.Bxe7 Qxe7. The resulting position is straightforward: you've solved the problem of your pinned knight, you have the bishop pair (White has traded theirs off), and your queen is well placed. From here, typical plans include castling kingside, playing ...c5 to challenge White's pawn centre, and developing your remaining pieces. This line is played in over 130,000 games from this position and is Black's most reliable path to equality.

Looking at 260,454 games played from this exact position, the results are remarkably balanced: White wins 48.2%, draws 3.8%, and Black wins 48.0%. That's a razor-thin margin. Among the most-played responses, 4.e5 (with Black replying 4...Nd5) gives White a 47.8% score — actually slightly below White's overall average. Meanwhile, 4.Bd3 (a quieter developing move) sees White scoring 52.5%, and 4.Nd2 gives White 52.6%. This tells you that the principled 4.e5 line is your best bet for equalising. When White chooses a slower move like 4.Bd3 or 4.Nd2, they are actually scoring better statistically — but that doesn't mean you should fear 4.e5; the numbers are very close, and the engine's evaluation (+0.61) reflects only a slight edge.

White has several tempting moves that turn out to be errors. Knowing these can help you punish an imprecise opponent. The most common mistake is 4.Bxf6, played over 51,000 times — but it's an inaccuracy that loses about 0.9 pawns according to Stockfish. After 4.Bxf6 Bxf6, White has given up the bishop pair without gaining any space, and Black is comfortable. Another inaccuracy is 4.Nc3 (loses ~0.6 pawns), which blocks the c-pawn and allows you to respond actively — the engine suggests 4...e5 was better for White instead. The worst of the bunch is 4.Nf3, a full mistake costing about 1.5 pawns. After 4.Nf3, you can continue developing naturally and already have a pleasant position. If your opponent plays any of these suboptimal moves, stay alert: you've already gained an edge.