Current position
Hippopotamus Defense
1.e4 Nh6
The Hippopotamus Defense starts with 1.e4 Nh6 and is catalogued under ECO B00, in the semi-open games half of the book. The catalog indexes 2 lines inside it, grouped into 1 named variation, and the position after those moves has 1 playable continuation to walk from here.
Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.
Current setup
Move ideas
Claims the center with a pawn and opens lines for the queen and king’s bishop.
Idea: Build quick development and make early castling possible.
Develops the knight to h6, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Advances to d4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Advances the g-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Waiting for Lichess game popularity.
Each line below is an indexed entry under Hippopotamus Defense. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.
ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the Hippopotamus Defense.