A rarely played move^[1][2]. The name is presumed to derive from the Amazon tribe of fearsome female warriors in Greek mythology, as well as the powerful fairy chess piece used in some variants of the game, which combines the abilities of a queen and a knight^[3]

Against white's most common replies 2...Nc6 leads to an even position, with 2...Nf6 and 2...e6 giving black a very slight edge, while 2...c5 is generally engine favourite.

A similar idea is the sunshine (1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Qd3) Played by William Pollock against Max Weiss in 1889. White lost.