The Bongcloud chess story reminded me of the StarCraft 2 player printf. Theoretically it is intended play, but he will start every single game with a cannon rush.

A cannon rush is when you attack your enemy’s base with immobile cannons that are actually meant to be used defensively. When the enemy doesn’t know that they are being cannon rushed it can be devastating, especially for inexperienced players. But when you halfway know what you’re doing and spot it quickly enough it is easy to defend.

But printf plays at a level where he’s not likely to encounter inexperienced opponents. And anyone who has any interest in the game is very likely to know who printf is. And he never hides his identity and he always opens with a cannon rush. And he’s still super successful with it.

He’s played it so often with so many variations he can probably (maybe he does) teach the top players a few things about that strategy. And although it’s always the same it’s still interesting to watch him play.