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English Opening · As White · updated October 2026

Play the English Opening like Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

A repertoire in the English Opening built from 85 of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Maxime Vachier-Lagrave chose most often. Where Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 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 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave or Chess.com.

  • Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was #11 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,295) and scored 79% against opponents averaging 2,888 in these games.
  • You play Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's own move in 16 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#11

Chess.com

Rating

3,295

Games

85

in this opening

Score

79%

in these games

Opponents

2,888

average rating

More about Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

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 18 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 8% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bb2 Bb7 9.d4 Nd7 10.Re1

  2. Line 2 · 8% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3

  4. Line 4 · 5% at top level

    1…c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3

  5. Line 5 · 4% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3

  6. Line 6 · 4% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5

  7. Line 7 · 4% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 O-O 6.Nd5 Be7 7.a3 a5 8.Be2

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+

  9. Line 9 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 O-O 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O

  10. Line 10 · 4% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.O-O dxc4 6.Qa4 Bd7 7.Qxc4 e5 8.Ng5 Qe7 9.b3

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 dxc4 4.Bg2

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Qa4+

  13. Line 13 · 4% at top level

    1…b6 2.e4 Bb7 3.Nc3

  14. Line 14 · 4% at top level

    1…c6 2.Nf3

  15. Line 15 · 3% at top level

    1…e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 f5 4.g3 Nf6 5.d4

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

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's main line in the English Opening, move by move

The most common line at top level: 1…e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bb2 Bb7 9.d4 Nd7 10.Re1.

  1. 1…e6 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 1…e6. At top level, this comes up about 27% of the time.
  2. 2.Nf3 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 2.Nf3 in 9 games, scoring 89%.
  3. 2…Nf6 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 2…Nf6. At top level, this comes up about 12% of the time.
  4. 3.g3 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 3.g3 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  5. 3…d5 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 3…d5.
  6. 4.Bg2 Your move · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played 4.Bg2 in 3 games, scoring 100%.
  7. 4…Be7 Reply · Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's games A common reply here is 4…Be7. At top level, this comes up about 8% of the time.
  8. 5.O-O Your move · Top-50 players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  9. 5…O-O Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 5…O-O.
  10. 6.b3 Your move · Top-50 players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.
  11. 6…b6 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 6…b6.
  12. 7.cxd5 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  13. 7…Nxd5 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 7…Nxd5.
  14. 8.Bb2 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.d4 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.
  17. 9…Nd7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 9…Nd7.
  18. 10.Re1 Your move · Stockfish The games give no move to follow here, so this is Stockfish's choice.

Questions about this course

How does Maxime Vachier-Lagrave play the English Opening?
After 1.c4, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's most common line is 1…e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bb2 Bb7 9.d4 Nd7 10.Re1. At top level it comes up about 8% of the time.
Is this Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this English Opening course based on?
85 of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's Chess.com blitz games in the English Opening as White, against opponents with an average rating of 2,888. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 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 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave?
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was ranked number 11 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,295 when this course was built.