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English Opening · As White · updated October 2026

Play the English Opening like Nihal Sarin

A repertoire in the English Opening built from 47 of Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games. At every position you play the move Nihal Sarin chose most often. Where Nihal Sarin 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 Nihal Sarin or Chess.com.

  • Nihal Sarin was #4 in Chess.com blitz in October 2026 (3,365) and scored 70% against opponents averaging 3,137 in these games.
  • You play Nihal Sarin's own move in 10 of 40 positions.
  • The whole course is free, and it is updated monthly.

Free · first 5 lines need no account

Blitz rank

#4

Chess.com

Rating

3,365

Games

47

in this opening

Score

70%

in these games

Opponents

3,137

average rating

More about Nihal Sarin

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 4 moves

Lines to learn

  1. Line 1 · 9% at top level

    1…g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2

  2. Line 2 · 8% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nf3

  3. Line 3 · 7% at top level

    1…c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3

  4. Line 4 · 6% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Bd6 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.e3 O-O 8.Bd3 b6 9.Nge2

  5. Line 5 · 6% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Bd6 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.e3 O-O 8.Bd3 c5 9.dxc5

  6. Line 6 · 6% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Bd6 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.e3 c6 8.Bd3

  7. Line 7 · 5% at top level

    1…e5 2.g3 d5 3.cxd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qd8 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.O-O h6 8.d3

  8. Line 8 · 4% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3

  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 e5 3.Nf3

  11. Line 11 · 4% at top level

    1…Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4

  12. Line 12 · 4% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bd6 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 8.Bd3 O-O 9.h3 Re8 10.Nf3

  13. Line 13 · 4% at top level

    1…e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Nf3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2

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

Nihal Sarin's main line in the English Opening, move by move

The most common line at top level: 1…g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2.

  1. 1…g6 Reply · Nihal Sarin's games A common reply here is 1…g6. At top level, this comes up about 11% of the time.
  2. 2.g3 Your move · Nihal Sarin's games Nihal Sarin played 2.g3 in 2 games, scoring 50%.
  3. 2…Bg7 Reply · Top-50 players In the other top players' games, a common reply here is 2…Bg7. At top level, this comes up about 9% of the time.
  4. 3.Bg2 Your move · Top-50 players Nihal Sarin has too few games here, so this is the other top players' most played move.

Questions about this course

How does Nihal Sarin play the English Opening?
After 1.c4, Nihal Sarin's most common line is 1…g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2. At top level it comes up about 9% of the time.
Is this Nihal Sarin's course?
No. ChessDrills builds it automatically from Nihal Sarin's public Chess.com blitz games.
What is this English Opening course based on?
47 of Nihal Sarin's Chess.com blitz games in the English Opening as White, against opponents with an average rating of 3,137. Nihal Sarin scored 70% in them.
How many lines does the course have?
13 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 Nihal Sarin?
GM Nihal Sarin was ranked number 4 on the Chess.com blitz leaderboard with a rating of 3,365 when this course was built.