Flank openings

English Opening

1.c4

The English Opening starts with 1.c4 and is catalogued under ECO A10, in the flank openings half of the book. The catalog indexes 175 lines inside it, grouped into 127 named variations, and the position after those moves has 11 playable continuations to walk from here.

Opening repertoire map

Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.

Current position
English Opening
Popularity by Elo
Share of Lichess blitz, rapid, and classical games that continued with each move.
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Current setup

Move ideas

  1. 1.c4

    Controls d5 from the flank without occupying the center immediately.

    Idea: Pressure the center from the side and keep the pawn structure flexible.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

11 moves
e5English Opening: King's English Variation43 named lines · English Opening: Drill Variation · English Opening: Carls-Bremen SystemAdvances to e5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.Nf6English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense32 named lines · English Orangutan · English Opening: Romanishin GambitDevelops the knight to f6, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.e6English Opening: Agincourt Defense28 named lines · Catalan Opening: Closed · English Opening: Neo-CatalanAdvances to e6 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.c5English Opening: Symmetrical Variation18 named lines · English Opening: Wing Gambit · Tarrasch Defense: Symmetrical VariationAdvances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.f5English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense6 named lines · English Opening: Wade Gambit · English Opening: Porcupine VariationAdvances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.d5English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense4 named lines · English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Löhn Gambit · English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Schulz GambitAdvances to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.c6English Opening: Caro-Kann Defensive System3 named lines · Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, with g3 · Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, Gurevich SystemAdvances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.g5English Opening: Myers Defense3 named lines · English Opening: Myers Gambit · English Opening: Zilbermints GambitAdvances the g-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Prepare a fianchetto or discourage the opponent’s expansion on that wing.g6English Opening: Great Snake Variation3 named lines · English Opening: Adorjan Defense · English Opening: King's English Variation, Botvinnik System, Prickly Pawn Pass SystemAdvances the g-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.b5English Opening: Jaenisch Gambit1 named lineAdvances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Prepare a fianchetto or discourage the opponent’s expansion on that wing.Nc6English Opening: Anglo-Lithuanian Variation1 named lineDevelops the knight to c6, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

Named variations

Each line below is an indexed entry under English Opening. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.

103 more named lines sit inside this family — the tree above walks all of them.

Openings from the same volume

ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the English Opening.