Tree path 5 levels English Opening › King's English Variation › Reversed Sicilian › English Opening: King's English Variation › Smyslov Defense
- Chess Codex
- English Opening A10
- King's English Variation A20
- Reversed Sicilian A21
- English Opening: King's English Variation A21
- Smyslov Defense A21 you are here
English Opening: King's English Variation, Smyslov Defense
Overview
English Opening: King's English Variation, Smyslov Defense is a variation within the Flank Openings family, indexed as ECO A21.
The Flank Openings group covers flank openings — systems that delay the central pawn break and instead develop pieces and pawns on the wings.
Play reaches this position via 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 Bg4, after 6 plies of opening development.
It is a variation of English Opening: King's English Variation, which itself descends from the root opening English Opening.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- A21
- Group
- Flank Openings (A)
- Plies
- 6
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
24,856 games · White 56.1% / Draw 4.6% / Black 39.3%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| e3 | 6,302 | |
| g3 | 4,717 | |
| d4 | 4,479 | |
| d3 | 2,572 | |
| h3 | 2,562 | |
| e4 | 2,246 | |
| Qb3 | 1,235 | |
| c5 | 145 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 00:45:21
Write a description
Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links).
Submissions are reviewed before publishing.