English Opening: Carls-Bremen System
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3
The English Opening: Carls-Bremen System is a chess opening classified as ECO A22, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3. It is a line of the English Opening. Black is to move. 6 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 9,729 times by this move order. White won 51%, 5% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 3… d5 (24% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3… Bb4 4. Bg2 O-O 5. e4 Bxc3 6. bxc3)
- ECO
- A22
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/2P5/2N3P1/PP1PPP1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2,712 | |
| 1500-1999 | 5,377 | |
| 2000+ | 1,640 | |
| All | 9,729 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… d5 King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Reversed Dragon | 2,299 (24%) | |
| 3… Bc5 | 1,790 (18%) | |
| 3… Bb4 King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Smyslov System | 1,646 (17%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 1,444 (15%) | |
| 3… c6 King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation (3. g3 c6) | 1,314 (14%) | |
| 3… d6 | 402 (4%) | |
| 3… Be7 | 246 (3%) | |
| 3… g6 King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line | 191 (2%) |
Master games
1,058 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 52%, draw 17%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- Igel 3.0.10 (3495) – SlowChess Blitz 2.83 avx2 (3490) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-17
- SlowChess Blitz 2.83 avx2 (3490) – Igel 3.0.10 (3495) 1-0 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-15
- GM Quang Liem Le (2708) – GM Vladislav Artemiev (2746) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE World Cup 2019 · 2019-09-18
- GM Alexander Ipatov (2613) – GM David Navara (2708) 0-1 · TCh-FRA Top 12 2014 · 2014-05-31
- GM Dmitry Jakovenko (2722) – GM Ray Robson (2598) 1-0 · 40th Olympiad Open · 2012-09-06
Search all games of the English Opening: Carls-Bremen System and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- doyoulikedonuts (2676) – FM The_Fawkes (2666) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- hierasousse (2615) – GM jncool68 (2711) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- schoolchess93 (2600) – BishopAndSons (2684) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6
Continuations
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line A24 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 g6
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation (3. g3 c6) A23 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 c6
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Reversed Dragon A22 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Smyslov System A22 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation (4. Bg2 c6) A23 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 c6
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, Be7 A29 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 d6 5. d3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O
More English Opening lines (all)
- English Opening A10
- English Opening: Achilles-Omega Gambit A10
- English Opening: Adorjan Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense, Hickmann Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Chabanon Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Ferenc Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Lithuanian Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Löhn Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Malvinas Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Schulz Gambit A10
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.