English Opening: The Whale
1. e4 e5 2. c4
The English Opening: The Whale is a chess opening classified as ECO C20, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. c4. It is a line of the English Opening. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 9,706 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nc6 (31% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.34 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 2… Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4)
- ECO
- C20
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/2P1P3/8/PP1P1PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. c4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4,840 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4,404 | |
| 2000+ | 462 | |
| All | 9,706 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nc6 | 2,980 (31%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 2,648 (27%) | |
| 2… Bc5 | 1,545 (16%) | |
| 2… d6 | 1,017 (10%) | |
| 2… c5 | 383 (4%) | |
| 2… c6 | 290 (3%) | |
| 2… Qf6 | 175 (2%) | |
| 2… f5 | 131 (1%) |
Master games
162 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 13%, Black 49%). The strongest:
- GM Mikhail Al. Antipov (2616) – GM Roman Ovetchkin (2546) 0-1 · 71st ch-RUS HL 2018 · 2018-06-29
- Riccardo Guglielmi (2147) – GM Sune Berg Hansen (2597) 0-1 · CellaVision Cup 2016 · 2016-08-05
- FM Muhamad Agus Kurniawan (2316) – FM Satria Duta Cahaya (2386) 0-1 · Nusantara GM 2025 · 2025-07-25
- FM Seyed Abolfazl Moosavifar (2308) – FM Kemel Antonio Gallo Garcia (2385) 1-0 · Titled Tue 31st Dec Late · 2024-12-31
- Maykol Yefri Jimenez (2092) – GM Jose Fernando Cuenca Jimenez (2550) 0-1 · TCh-ESP Rapid 2021 · 2021-10-09
Search all games of the English Opening: The Whale and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TRATINCICA79 (2553) – whopper211 (2696) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IE2512 (2394) – IM Arrowlimit (2542) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IE2512 (2383) – Prayer791 (2524) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Pawn Game (1. e4 e5) 1. e4 e5
Continuations
- King's Pawn Game: Bavarian Gambit C20 · 1. e4 e5 2. c4 d5
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.