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English Opening · As White · updated October 2026

Play the English Opening like Hikaru Nakamura

A repertoire in the English Opening built from 47 of Hikaru Nakamura's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Hikaru Nakamura chose most often. Where Hikaru Nakamura has fewer than 3 games, the course takes the other top-50 players' most played move, then Stockfish's. Learn a line on the board, then each position comes back in a short daily review until it sticks.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Hikaru Nakamura or Chess.com.

  • Hikaru Nakamura was #1 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,466) and scored 86% against opponents averaging 3,058 in these games.
  • You play Hikaru Nakamura's own move in 18 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#1

Chess.com

Rating

3,466

Games

47

in this opening

Score

86%

in these games

Opponents

3,058

average rating

More about Hikaru Nakamura

Use arrow keys to navigate the board. Press Enter to select a piece, then use arrow keys and Enter to move. Press Escape to cancel a move.
Line 1 after 16 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 15% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.bxc4 b6 8.d4 Bb7 9.Qc2

  2. Line 2 · 9% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Bd6 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.a3 d4 8.Nxd4

  3. Line 3 · 8% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6.Be3

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Qc2

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Bd6 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 Re8 7.d4

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Bd6 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 b6 7.cxd5

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    1…c5 2.Nf3

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    1…c6 2.Nf3

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 5.d3 d6 6.a3 Bc5 7.b4 Bb6 8.Na4 Bg4 9.Nxb6 axb6 10.Bb2

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 c5 5.Bb2 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 Bd6 8.Nc3 O-O 9.O-O

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    1…g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.d4

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.e5

Ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. Learned lines join your daily review.

Hikaru Nakamura's main line in the English Opening, move by move

The most common line at top level: 1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.bxc4 b6 8.d4 Bb7 9.Qc2.

  1. 1…e6 Reply · Hikaru Nakamura's games A common reply here is 1…e6. At top level, this comes up about 40% of the time.
  2. 2.Nf3 Your move · Hikaru Nakamura's games Hikaru Nakamura played 2.Nf3 in 13 games, scoring 92%.
  3. 2…d5 Reply · Hikaru Nakamura's games A common reply here is 2…d5. At top level, this comes up about 37% of the time.
  4. 3.e3 Your move · Hikaru Nakamura's games Hikaru Nakamura played 3.e3 in 12 games, scoring 92%.
  5. 3…Nf6 Reply · Hikaru Nakamura's games A common reply here is 3…Nf6.
  6. 4.b3 Your move · Hikaru Nakamura's games Hikaru Nakamura played 4.b3 in 10 games, scoring 95%.
  7. 4…Be7 Reply · Hikaru Nakamura's games A common reply here is 4…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 15% of the time.
  8. 5.Bb2 Your move · Hikaru Nakamura's games Hikaru Nakamura played 5.Bb2 in 4 games, scoring 100%.
  9. 5…O-O Reply · Hikaru Nakamura's games A common reply here is 5…O-O.
  10. 6.Nc3 Your move · Hikaru Nakamura's games Hikaru Nakamura played 6.Nc3 in 2 games, scoring 100%.
  11. 6…dxc4 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 6…dxc4.
  12. 7.bxc4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  13. 7…b6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7…b6.
  14. 8.d4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  15. 8…Bb7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 8…Bb7.
  16. 9.Qc2 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Hikaru Nakamura play the English Opening?
After 1.c4, Hikaru Nakamura's most common line is 1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.bxc4 b6 8.d4 Bb7 9.Qc2. At top level it comes up about 15% of the time.
Is this Hikaru Nakamura's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Hikaru Nakamura's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this English Opening course based on?
47 of Hikaru Nakamura's Chess.com blitz games in the English Opening as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,058. Hikaru Nakamura scored 86% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
12 lines covering 40 positions, ordered by how often they come up in top-level games. The first 5 lines need no account; saving your progress with an email unlocks the rest, free.
Who is Hikaru Nakamura?
GM Hikaru Nakamura was ranked number 1 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,466 when this course was built.