Hippopotamus Defense (1. e4 Nh6)
1. e4 Nh6
The Hippopotamus Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nh6. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,038 times by this move order. White won 56%, 4% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 2. d4 (39% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.94 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 2. Nc3 c6 3. d4 d5 4. Bf4 dxe4)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/7n/8/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. e4 Nh6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 685 | |
| 1500-1999 | 289 | |
| 2000+ | 64 | |
| All | 1,038 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. d4 | 410 (39%) | |
| 2. Nf3 | 228 (22%) | |
| 2. Bc4 | 122 (12%) | |
| 2. d3 | 67 (6%) | |
| 2. Nc3 | 63 (6%) | |
| 2. Qf3 | 27 (3%) | |
| 2. f4 | 26 (3%) | |
| 2. Qh5 | 20 (2%) |
Master games
42 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 14%, Black 43%). The strongest:
- GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (2657) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2833) 1-0 · Titled Tue 18th Mar Early · 2025-03-18
- GM David Paravyan (2620) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2767) 0-1 · Titled Tue 3rd Sep Early · 2024-09-03
- IM Ilamparthi A R (2502) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2833) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 11th Mar Early · 2025-03-11
- GM Vugar Rasulov (2531) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2767) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Sep Early · 2024-09-03
- FM Dmitry Goltsev (2161) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) 0-1 · Titled Tue 19th Aug Early · 2025-08-19
Search all games of the Hippopotamus Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Guary1 (2754) – FM Petr_Mikhalchenko (2595) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SackOnTheKing930 (2740) – FM Petr_Mikhalchenko (2572) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- SackOnTheKing930 (2722) – FM Petr_Mikhalchenko (2589) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
King's Pawn Game (1. e4) 1. e4
Continuations
- Hippopotamus Defense (3. c4 f6) B00 · 1. e4 Nh6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 f6
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.