Wayward Queen Attack, Kiddie Countergambit

The Kiddie Countergambit, 2...Nf6, answers White's early queen sortie by attacking the queen instead of defending e5. Because the queen must move at once, White has no time for Bc4 and the mating idea on f7. The e5-pawn, however, is left unprotected, and White takes it with 3. Qxe5+ in the vast majority of games. After 3...Be7 Black develops with gain of time against the exposed queen. A typical sequence is 4. Bc4 Nc6 5. Qf4 d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5, and here 8. Nc3?? loses a rook to 8...Qxg2. The engine rates the position as level, and on Lichess Black scores slightly better than White. 3. Qf3 is the main way to decline the pawn. The rarer 3. Qf5, the Speers, and 3. Bc4 both turn out poorly for White in practice.

The line is common in amateur games but almost absent from tournament chess. The chess automaton Mephisto played it in 1881. An early tournament example, G. T. McClure against F. Mathewson in a 1905 match between Boston and New England, was reported by the American Chess Bulletin under the label Danvers Attack. How the name Kiddie arose is unclear.