Current position
French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation
1.e4
The King's Pawn Game starts with 1.e4 and is catalogued under ECO B00, in the semi-open games half of the book. The catalog indexes 38 lines inside it, grouped into 35 named variations, and the position after those moves has 2 playable continuations 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.
Prepares ...d5 to challenge White’s center with a supported pawn.
Idea: Build a compact pawn chain, then attack its base with ...c5.
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 to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Develops the knight to c3, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Develops the bishop to b4, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Advances to e5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.
Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.
Advances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Advances the a-pawn to gain queenside edge space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Captures the knight on c3 and changes the local pawn or piece balance, forcing the king to answer a check.
Idea: Remove an active defender and improve the moving piece’s influence.
Captures the bishop on c3 and changes the local pawn or piece balance.
Idea: Open lines in the queenside and reshape the center for the next phase.
Develops the knight to e7, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Advances the a-pawn to gain queenside edge space and control new squares.
Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.
Develops the knight to c6, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Develops the knight to f3, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Repositions the queen to a5, where it influences a new part of the board.
Idea: Coordinate threats carefully while avoiding unnecessary tempi against the queen.
Develops the bishop to d2, bringing it into the game.
Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.
Waiting for Lichess game popularity.
Each line below is an indexed entry under King's Pawn Game. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.
11 more named lines sit inside this family — the tree above walks all of them.
ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the King's Pawn Game.