Flank openings

Polish Opening

1.b4

The Polish Opening starts with 1.b4 and is catalogued under ECO A00, in the flank openings half of the book. The catalog indexes 25 lines inside it, grouped into 25 named variations, and the position after those moves has 10 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
Polish 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.b4

    Advances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.

    Idea: Prepare a fianchetto or discourage the opponent’s expansion on that wing.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

10 moves
d5Polish Opening, with d55 named lines · Polish Opening: Baltic Defense · Polish Opening: German DefenseAdvances to d5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.e5Polish Opening5 named lines · Polish Opening: Czech Defense · Polish Opening: Bugayev AttackAdvances to e5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.e6Polish Opening4 named lines · Polish Opening: Rooks Swap Line · Polish Opening: Queenside DefenseAdvances to e6 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.c6Polish Opening: Outflank Variation3 named lines · Polish Opening: Schuehler Gambit · Polish Opening: Outflank Variation, Schuehler GambitAdvances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.Nf6Polish Opening3 named lines · Polish Opening: King's Indian Variation · Polish Opening: King's Indian Variation, Sokolsky AttackDevelops the knight to f6, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.b5Polish Opening: Symmetrical Variation1 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.c5Polish Opening: Birmingham Gambit1 named lineAdvances the c-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.f5Polish Opening: Dutch Defense1 named lineAdvances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.Nc6Polish Opening: Grigorian 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.Nh6Polish Opening: Karniewski Variation1 named lineDevelops the knight to h6, 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 Polish Opening. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.

1 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 Polish Opening.