English Opening

English Opening
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
c7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
d2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.c4
ECOA10–A39
OriginStaunton vs. Saint-Amant, 1843
Named afterHoward Staunton, English player and World Champion (unofficial)

The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move:

1. c4

A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular[1][2] and, according to various databases, one of the four most successful of White's twenty possible first moves.[1][3] White begins the fight for the centre by staking a claim to the d5-square from the wing, in hypermodern style. Although many lines of the English have a distinct character, the opening is often used as a transpositional device in much the same way as 1.Nf3 – to avoid such highly regarded responses to 1.d4 as the Nimzo-Indian and Grünfeld Defences – and is considered reliable and flexible.[4]

This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
  1. ^ a b Meyer-Kahlen, Stefan. "Shredder opening database statistics". Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  2. ^ "Chess Opening Explorer". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  3. ^ "Chess Openings Database statistics". Archived from the original on 2010-07-26. Retrieved 2009-08-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ Chess Life. Vol. 59 (1–7 ed.). United States Chess Federation. 2004. p. 303.