The Wayward Queen Attack is 1. 2.. You bring the queen out on move two to hit two pawns at once: e5, which nothing defends, and f7, which only the king guards. Once your opponent covers both, the queen has to move again. On Lichess (September 2026, N = 231,898 public games), you score 52.1% with White.
Lichess games from September 2026 (30,577,162 rated 900 to 1700) and 31,791 over-the-board games rated 2300+ from the last 12 months. Data updated: October 14, 2026.
3 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
Against 2., 52 in 100 opponents at your level defend e5 with ; among online players rated over 2200, it's 86 in 100. Next come (15 in 100), (12) and (11). After , 78 in 100 public players continue with 3., and strong players choose it in every game. The split comes on move five: after 4. , strong players go 5. in 88 games out of 100, the public in just 14.
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51.5% | 50.7% | 86.0% | no data | |
| 14.7% | 48.5% | 7.4% | no data | |
| 12.0% | 52.4% | no data | no data | |
| 11.1% | 52.5% | 4.6% | no data | |
| 3.6% | 50.1% | 2.1% | no data | |
| 3.4% | 80.1% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77.9% | 52.8% | 100.0% | no data | |
| 10.0% | 46.0% | no data | no data | |
| 4.0% | 39.5% | no data | no data | |
| 3.1% | 48.3% | no data | no data | |
| 1.5% | 41.2% | no data | no data | |
| 1.2% | 43.9% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67.4% | 50.6% | 84.1% | no data | |
| 13.1% | 50.9% | 5.6% | no data | |
| 7.4% | 47.9% | 10.3% | no data | |
| 5.1% | 58.7% | no data | no data | |
| 5.1% | 82.7% | no data | no data | |
| 1.1% | 56.2% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95.8% | 51.5% | 100.0% | no data | |
| 1.3% | 46.1% | no data | no data | |
| 0.7% | 34.0% | no data | no data | |
| 0.7% | 43.2% | no data | no data | |
| 0.5% | 22.0% | no data | no data | |
| 0.3% | 22.7% | no data | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83.2% | 50.1% | 81.0% | no data | |
| 6.5% | 49.8% | 19.0% | no data | |
| 2.3% | 52.4% | no data | no data | |
| 2.0% | 45.5% | no data | no data | |
| 1.7% | 92.6% | no data | no data | |
| 1.7% | 54.9% | no data | no data |
The whole plan revolves around the f7 pawn. Only the king defends it, so if you line up your queen and light-squared bishop on it, you threaten mate. The strong players' line is 3. 4. 5. 6.. Your opponent shuts the routes to f7 one by one, and meanwhile you bring out your f1 bishop and g1 knight.
From h5 the queen hits e5 and f7 together. That's why guards e5 with the knight. With 3. the bishop joins in on f7 and you threaten 4.. The reply cuts the diagonal between h5 and f7 and attacks your queen with the pawn as well. At your level, 5 in 100 opponents play here instead: it hits the queen but leaves f7 open, and you score 83 in 100 from that position. Before you retreat the queen, check whether f7 is still open.
With 4. the queen steps back without letting go of f7: from f3 it bears down the f-file alongside the bishop on c4. That's the choice of 96 in 100 public players. Your opponent blocks again with , putting the knight on the f-file and hitting your e4 pawn, which the queen defends. Watch for instead: it attacks your queen and the c2 pawn but blocks nothing, and 5. is mate. You score 93 in 100 against it.
This is where strong players and the public part ways. Your g1 knight can't go to f3 because the queen sits there, so it comes out with 5.. From e2 it covers d4: if the c6 knight jumps there to hit your queen and c2, you trade it off. With your opponent finishes the fianchetto and clears f8 and g8 for castling. You follow with 6., defending e4 a second time and opening the diagonal for the c1 bishop.
The cost is time. Your queen has already moved twice, and every enemy piece that comes out hitting it gains a tempo: a knight on f6 or d4, a bishop on g4. Most of the mistakes below come from that.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 285 | 86.0% | |
| 244 | 100.0% | |
| 252 | 84.1% | |
| 209 | 100.0% | |
| 200 | 81.0% | |
| 146 | 88.4% | |
| 121 | 86.8% | |
| 99 | 57.6% |
After your opponent hits the queen but leaves f7 uncovered, and 4. is mate. With 4., played by 27 in 100 here, the knight already blocks the f-file. After 5. 6. 7. you've lost the right to castle. You score 45 in 100 from a position that was won.
27 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 10 pawns of advantage. It scores 45.3%; scores 100.0%.
With 3. the bishop doesn't aim at f7, so your queen is on its own on h5. Your opponent hits it with ; after 4. the knight attacks the bishop and c2, and after 5. you lose the e4 pawn. 10 in 100 play it; you score 46 in 100, against 53 with 3..
10 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.6 pawns of advantage. It scores 46.0%; scores 52.8%.
A blunder on paper. After 3. , 4. puts the queen where hits it, along with the b5 bishop and c2. After 5. 6. , your e4 pawn is attacked twice and you hold it with 7.. At your level it rarely gets punished: nearly half play it and score 43 in 100, against 37 with 4..
49 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 4.2 pawns of advantage. It scores 42.7%; scores 37.4%.
3. attacks e5, which the c6 knight already guards, and adds nothing against f7. Your opponent develops with tempo through , and after 4. 5. your queen has moved twice while their pieces come out. 4 in 100 play it; you score 40 in 100, against 53 with 3..
4 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.3 pawns of advantage. It scores 39.5%; scores 52.8%.
Blunder, and a trap. After 3. , your opponent's queen and bishop both hit f2, which only your king defends. 4. attacks the queen and c7 but ignores the threat: 5. . With 4. the knight blocks the f-file; you score 64 in 100 there, and 8 after 4..
5 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 10 pawns of advantage. It scores 8.0%; scores 63.5%.
A mistake in theory. After 3. , the queen on f3 is exposed: opens the c8 bishop's diagonal, and after 5. the bishop attacks it. After 6. your opponent wins the pawn back. At your level it rarely gets punished: 75 in 100 play 4. and score 50 in 100, slightly better than with 4..
75 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 2.6 pawns of advantage. It scores 49.5%; scores 46.5%.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Not castled | Not castled | 68,991 |
| Not castled | 46,054 | |
| 41,035 | ||
| Not castled | 21,334 | |
| Not castled | 15,574 | |
| 14,549 |
1. 2. · 33,968 amateur games
With your opponent attacks the queen and leaves e5 hanging; you score 49 in 100.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · C20