Hippopotamus Defense (3. c4 f6)
1. e4 Nh6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 f6
The Hippopotamus Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nh6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 f6. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 4. Nf3 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.90 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 4. Nc3 d6 5. h3 e5 6. Nf3 Nf7)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppppp2p/5ppn/8/2PPP3/8/PP3PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 Nh6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 f6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Nf3 | 1 (50%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 1 (50%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- TAPS100 (1925) – nerveona (1908) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- ASfailt (1602) – Cheschase (1615) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Hippopotamus Defense (1. e4 Nh6) 1. e4 Nh6
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.