A chess opening or simply an opening is the initial stage of a chess game. It usually consists of established theory; the other phases are the middlegame and the endgame. Many opening sequences have standard names such as the "Sicilian Defense". The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants, and there are many others with varying degrees of common usage.
The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The Pirc Defence is a chess opening characterised by the response of Black to 1.e4 with 1...d6 and 2...Nf6, followed by ...g6 and ...Bg7, while allowing White to establish a centre with pawns on d4 and e4. It is named after the Slovenian grandmaster Vasja Pirc.
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It is defined by the following moves:
The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move:
In chess, the fianchetto is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent b- or g-file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward.
Bird's Opening is a chess opening characterised by the move:
The Vienna Game is an opening in chess that begins with the moves:
The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose "traditional" or "classic method" begins with the moves:
The Benko Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the move 3...b5 in the Benoni Defence arising after:
The Catalan Opening is a chess opening where White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, although various other openings can transpose into the Catalan. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings lists codes E01–E09 for lines with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2; other lines are part of E00.
The Benoni Defense is a chess opening characterized by an early reply of ...c5 against White's opening move 1.d4. Most commonly, it is reached by the sequence:
The Modern Benoni is a chess opening that begins with the moves 1.d4Nf6 2.c4c5 3.d5e6. It is classified under the ECO codes A60–A79. After the initial moves, Black proceeds to capture on d5, creating a majority of black pawns on the queenside. To support their advance, the king's bishop is usually fianchettoed on g7. These two features differentiate Black's setup from the other Benoni defences and the King's Indian Defence, although transpositions between these openings are common.
The Old Indian Defense is a chess opening defined by the moves:
Owen's Defence is an uncommon chess opening defined by the moves:
The Polish Defense is the name commonly given to one of several sequences of chess opening moves characterized by an early ...b5 by Black. The name "Polish Defense" is given by analogy to the Polish Opening, 1.b4. The original line was
In the game of chess, Indian Defence or Indian Game is a broad term for a group of openings characterised by the moves:
A flank opening is a chess opening played by White and typified by play on one or both flanks. White often plays in hypermodern style, attacking the center from the flanks with pieces rather than occupying it with pawns. Some of these openings are played often, although more often by advanced players than beginners, and 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 trail only 1.e4 and 1.d4 in popularity as opening moves.
The East Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
