Kingsights Logo
Wayward Queen Attack report from your own games

Wayward Queen Attack report from your own games

Playing 2.Qh5? Find out how often Scholar's Mate really works — and how often it backfires.

Free • Instant Analysis • Works with any Chess.com username

What we analyze in your Wayward Queen games

Your Scholar's Mate success rate

Your win rate when the attack is refuted

Your queen retreat plan when challenged

Your piece activity after the queen retreats

Your positional understanding in the resulting positions

Key Positions to Know

Critical concepts every Wayward Queen Attack player should understand

The Scholar's Mate Threat

With 2.Qh5, White creates an immediate threat of 3.Qxf7# — Scholar's Mate. Black must respond precisely with 2...Nc6 (or 2...g6) to defend f7. The trick is that many beginners don't know the correct refutation and fall for it in practice.

The Correct Refutation

After 2...Nc6, the Scholar's Mate threat is over. Now if 3.Bc4, Black plays 3...g6 and the queen must retreat. White loses tempo and Black develops normally. The key lesson: developing with tempo (Nc6 attacks nothing, g6 attacks the queen) is the correct way to refute the Wayward Queen.

Queen Retreat Plans

After the queen is challenged, White must retreat — either to f3, e2, or h4. Each retreat leads to different positions. From f3, White can still eye f7 and support a potential Nc3-d5 plan. The important thing is that White is already behind in development.

Opening Statistics

Original research from 5,740 real amateur games — data you won't find anywhere else.

Avg. Game Length
—awaiting data
Underdog Wins
—awaiting data
Quick Finishes
—awaiting data
Endgame Reach
—awaiting data
White's Edge
+4.2%
Favors BlackEqualFavors White

At 1200-1400

📊White's edge is +4.2% — a slight advantage for White.

How This Opening Changes as You Improve

RatingGamesWhite's Edge
800-10002,753
+3.5%50 /0 /46
1000-12001,660
+10.0%53 /0 /43
1200-1400828
+4.2%50 /0 /46
1400-1600357
+8.2%53 /0 /45
1600-1800142
+4.2%51 /0 /47

Based on 5,740 games · Updated March 2026

Common Wayward Queen patterns we detect

We automatically check if you fall for these specific traps.

Queen Addiction

Moving your queen too early often leads to trouble.

About the Wayward Queen Attack

The Wayward Queen Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Qh5) is one of the most common openings at beginner and intermediate levels. White immediately threatens Scholar's Mate on f7. While easily refuted by 2...Nc6, the Queen on h5 often creates practical difficulties for unprepared opponents.

We track your Scholar's Mate attempts, refutation rates, and your ability to maintain pressure when the early queen thrust doesn't work immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Wayward Queen Attack analysis

The Wayward Queen Attack begins with 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5, immediately deploying the queen to h5 to threaten a Scholar's Mate pattern on f7. Also called the Parham Attack or Child's Attack, it violates the fundamental principle of not developing the queen early. However, it creates an immediate concrete threat — Qxf7# — that unprepared players frequently miss. Against a prepared opponent, the queen becomes a target, but against beginners, 2.Qh5 has claimed thousands of games with 3.Qxf7#.
After 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4, White threatens Qxf7# immediately. If Black plays the natural-looking 3...Nf6?? (attacking the queen), White delivers 4.Qxf7# — checkmate in four moves! This is Scholar's Mate, the fastest possible checkmate in chess and the goal of the Wayward Queen Attack. Black must play 3...g6 to attack the queen, or 3...Qe7, or simply 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6, neutralizing the attack before it develops. Never move the f6 knight while White's queen is on h5.
After 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5, Black's correct response is 2...Nc6, developing naturally and covering f7 partially. After 3.Bc4, Black must play 3...g6!, attacking the queen and forcing it to retreat. After 4.Qf3 Nf6 or 4.Qd1, Black has equalized completely — White has wasted two queen moves and gained nothing. Alternatively, 3...Qe7! defends f7 and prepares ...g6 on the next move. The key principle: counterattack the queen directly rather than ignoring the threat to develop — 3...Nf6?? is always wrong when the queen is on h5.
The Wayward Queen Attack is not theoretically sound — after 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6 5.Ne2, Black has comfortable development and White's queen is out of position. However, IM Eric Rosen has demonstrated repeatedly that the opening works brilliantly in bullet chess against unprepared opponents, and at club level the Scholar's Mate threat alone wins many games. The attack exploits the single most common mistake beginners make: ignoring queen threats and developing 'normally.' Against a prepared opponent, White will ultimately lose time and face active counterplay.

Explore Related Openings

Analyze other openings similar to the Wayward Queen Attack

Italian Game

Master the classical approach. Discover exactly where your Italian Game plans go wrong in real games.

Analyze Now

Bishop's Opening

A flexible start that keeps all options open. See how your Bc4 opening performs.

Analyze Now

Scotch Game

Open the center early and fight. See how well your Scotch tactics hold up in real games.

Analyze Now

How valuable was this analysis?

Ready to master your openings?

Get a complete breakdown of your play across all openings, not just the Wayward Queen Attack.

No credit card required • Works with Chess.com