for White · intermediate
English Opening
1/1
1.c4
A flexible flank opening where White fights for the centre from the side with c4, often fianchettoing and transposing into many structures. It is a favourite of positional players.
Key ideas
- Control the centre from the flank with c4 and a g3 fianchetto
- Play a reversed Sicilian with an extra tempo after ...e5
- Keep maximum flexibility and transpose to favourable lines
- Manoeuvre patiently and exploit small positional edges
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
English Opening89.4M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
3.1%2.8M47%
2%1.8M47%
Famous games in this line199k master games
Carlsen, Magnus (2863) – Caruana, Fabiano (2835)Carlsen, Magnus (2863) – Caruana, Fabiano (2835)Carlsen, M. (2876) – Caruana, F. (2812)Ding Liren (2805) – Carlsen, M. (2882)Carlsen, M. (2882) – Ding Liren (2805)Carlsen, M. (2872) – Aronian, L. (2812)Carlsen, Magnus (2872) – Kramnik, Vladimir (2810)Carlsen, Magnus (2872) – Aronian, Levon (2809)Heroes of this opening Carlsen, Magnus · Ding Liren
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
English Opening: Myers Defense1…g5 · 2 deeper linesEnglish Opening: Jaenisch Gambit1…b5English Opening: Agincourt Defense1…e6 · 24 deeper linesEnglish Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense1…f5 · 5 deeper lines
Nearby lines in the family
Study this opening