English OpeningA10
1. c4. White starts with the c-pawn, watching the d5 square from the side. It often turns into a slow, clever game.
Move by move
1. c4: pawn to c 4
- White: c4, pawn to c 4.
What each side wants
⚪ White: Bring the knights out to c3 and f3, and often put the light bishop on g2.
⚫ Black: 1...e5 is a good answer. It is like a Sicilian Defense with the colours swapped.
White made the last move, so after this it is Black's turn.
You will also hear it called the English.
Three things every opening does
The English Opening follows the three ideas strong players use in every opening. Get a pawn or two into the middle of the board, because pieces in the middle can reach more squares. Bring out your knights and bishops before you move the queen a lot, so she is not chased around. And castle early, so your king is tucked behind a wall of pawns and your rook joins the game. When you forget the moves, those three ideas will still help you find a good one.
Try it
Play it against Peabody on Play, then solve today's puzzle. Openings that start the same way:
Name, code and moves from the Lichess openings list (CC0), checked . The words are Peabody's own, and every move on this page is checked by Peabody's chess engine.