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English Opening · As White · updated October 2026

Play the English Opening like Liam Putnam

A repertoire in the English Opening built from 56 of Liam Putnam's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Liam Putnam chose most often. Where Liam Putnam 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 Liam Putnam or Chess.com.

  • Liam Putnam was #46 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,200) and scored 79% against opponents averaging 3,002 in these games.
  • You play Liam Putnam's own move in 20 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#46

Chess.com

Rating

3,200

Games

56

in this opening

Score

79%

in these games

Opponents

3,002

average rating

More about Liam Putnam

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 14 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 7% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nxe7 Qxe7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.b3 e4 8.Nd4

  2. Line 2 · 6% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3

  3. Line 3 · 6% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 d6 3.e4 g6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Be2

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3

  5. Line 5 · 5% at top level

    1…g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.d4

  6. Line 6 · 5% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Be2 Nbd7 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    1…c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    1…c6 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4

  12. Line 12 · 3% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nxe7 Qxe7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.b3 d6 8.d4

  13. Line 13 · 3% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nxe7 Qxe7 6.Nf3 e4 7.Nd4

  14. Line 14 · 3% at top level

    1…c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3

  15. Line 15 · 3% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nf3 f5 4.d4 e4 5.Ng5 Be7 6.Nh3

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

Liam Putnam's main line in the English Opening, move by move

The most common line at top level: 1…e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nxe7 Qxe7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.b3 e4 8.Nd4.

  1. 1…e5 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 1…e5. At top level, this comes up about 25% of the time.
  2. 2.Nc3 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 2.Nc3 in 13 games, scoring 92%.
  3. 2…Bb4 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 2…Bb4. At top level, this comes up about 13% of the time.
  4. 3.Nd5 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 3.Nd5 in 7 games, scoring 86%.
  5. 3…Be7 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 3…Be7.
  6. 4.e3 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 4.e3 in 5 games, scoring 80%.
  7. 4…Nf6 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 4…Nf6.
  8. 5.Nxe7 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 5.Nxe7 in 4 games, scoring 75%.
  9. 5…Qxe7 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 5…Qxe7.
  10. 6.Nf3 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 6.Nf3 in 4 games, scoring 75%.
  11. 6…O-O Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 6…O-O. At top level, this comes up about 10% of the time.
  12. 7.b3 Your move · Liam Putnam's games Liam Putnam played 7.b3 in 3 games, scoring 67%.
  13. 7…e4 Reply · Liam Putnam's games A common reply here is 7…e4. At top level, this comes up about 7% of the time.
  14. 8.Nd4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Liam Putnam play the English Opening?
After 1.c4, Liam Putnam's most common line is 1…e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nxe7 Qxe7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.b3 e4 8.Nd4. At top level it comes up about 7% of the time.
Is this Liam Putnam's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Liam Putnam's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this English Opening course based on?
56 of Liam Putnam's Chess.com blitz games in the English Opening as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,002. Liam Putnam scored 79% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
15 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 Liam Putnam?
GM Liam Putnam was ranked number 46 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,200 when this course was built.