English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense (4. Nxd4 Nf6)
1. c4 e6 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
The English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO A32, reached after 1. c4 e6 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6. It is a line of the English Opening. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 3 times by this move order. White won 0%, 0% were drawn and Black won 100%. The most popular continuation is 5. a3 (33% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.11 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 5. Nc3 d5 6. e3 Nc6 7. cxd5 exd5)
- ECO
- A32
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp1p1ppp/4pn2/8/2PN4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 5- PGN
1. c4 e6 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 3 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. a3 | 1 (33%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 1 (33%) | |
| 5. Bg5 | 1 (33%) |
Master games
1 over-the-board game is classified under this line (White 0%, draw 0%, Black 100%). The strongest:
- Paul-Horatiu Casangiu (2027) – IM Gabriel Mateuta (2507) 0-1 · TCh-ROU Superliga 2018 · 2018-12-01
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Renita885 (2100) – Vidas235 (2177) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- yneg_ve (1732) – mkhalil000 (1713) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
- rav0o (1623) – Turgueniev (1617) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
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.