Starting from 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 c6 3.g5, players enter the Grob's Attack: Spike — ECO A00. Lichess records 172,598 games in this line, which gives us a reliable view of how it actually performs in practice.
History and Notable Players
It arises from the Grob's Attack.
Performance Across Rating Levels
The picture changes a lot as you climb the rating ladder. At 1200 Elo, the opening shows up in 0.00% of games (7,677 samples). White scores 49.1%, Black 47.4%, draws 3.5%. By 1800, popularity is 0.01% and White's score is 46.9% to Black's 48.5%. At 2500, 0.01% of games go into this opening; draws sit at 11.6% — the line is well-mapped at this level. White's edge erodes by 7.8pp from 1200 to 2500 Elo, suggesting Black's counterplay is easier to find with experience.
Move Diversity and Theory Depth
What players actually play after the opening moves depends heavily on rating. At 1200 Elo (7,677 games), the top reply is e5, played 28.5% of the time. Five other moves each take at least 5% of games, and the top three moves account for 66.6% of games. Entropy: 2.73. By 2500 (1,779 games), e5 dominates at 61.5% of replies; only two other moves still reach 5% and the top three moves account for 92.9% of games. Entropy drops to 1.63. The narrowing is significant — strong players consolidate around a small set of best moves, while amateurs scatter across many plausible-looking options.
Common Mistakes
- Drifting away from main theory — At 400 Elo, the three most-played moves cover 57.5% of games, against 83.4% at 2000. The most popular deviation is g6 (played 19% of the time at 400, much less so up top). It looks fine but quietly hands the better-prepared side an edge.
- Neglecting development — It can feel productive to make extra pawn moves early, but falling behind in piece development is what loses most amateur games — especially in open positions where active pieces find squares fast.
- Playing without a plan — Each Grob's Attack: Spike middlegame demands a specific approach. Decide whether the position calls for attack, manoeuvre, or simplification before reaching for a move.
Practice on Chessiverse
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