Napoleon Attack

The Napoleon Attack arises after 1. Nc3 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4. Rather than entering the Vienna Game with 2. e4, White develops the king's knight and strikes at e5 with the d-pawn. The result resembles the Scotch Game, but the e-pawn is still at home and the queen's knight already stands on c3. This keeps White's central options open, though White has no pawn on e4 to support d5 or f5 later.

Black usually accepts the challenge with 3...exd4, by far the most popular reply. White then recaptures toward an open game with rapid piece play. 3...e4 is the main alternative. It gains space and drives the f3 knight away, giving a position with an advanced black e-pawn that White can attack with d5 or f3. 3...d6 keeps the strongpoint on e5 in Philidor fashion, and the engine also considers 3...Nxd4 playable. The engine rates the position as roughly balanced. In online games White scores somewhat better than Black, and the line remains an independent choice mostly found at club and blitz level.