C44

King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening, Inverted Hanham

Chess diagram: King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening, Inverted Hanham after 5. Nbd2

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Statistics from Lichess

82,705 games: White 49.8% / Draw 5.9% / Black 44.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
28,28828K
22,01122K
8,3158,315
4,9964,996
4,7974,797
3,9803,980
2,5712,571
2,3362,336

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.21 The position is about equal

Best play: 5... Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nc4 Re8 9. Re1 h6 10. c3

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening, Inverted Hanham (ECO C44, Open Games) is a variation of the King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2 (5 moves).

In 82,705 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.8%, Black 44.3% and 5.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…Bc5, in 34% of those games.

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How to play against the King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening, Inverted Hanham

The most played answer, 5…Bc5, also scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 46.3% and White 47.6% of 28K games. Of the main answers, 5…dxe4 scores lowest: 44.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 5…Bd6.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening, Inverted Hanham (C44)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-tayler-opening-inverted-hanham