Opening Quiz

Three ways to play

Name that opening plays the moves of a real opening line on the board. Pick the right name from four choices. The wrong answers come from the same family or start with the same first move, so you have to read the whole line, not just the first move.

Play the opening turns it around. You get a name, like the Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, and you play its moves for one side while the other side's replies come automatically. Stuck? A hint shows you which piece to move, then where to put it.

Which ECO code? is a bonus round for collectors. Every opening has a code from A00 to E99 in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings. At the Popular level you only pick the volume, A to E. At Club and Expert level you pick the exact code.

Pick your level

Popular sticks to about a hundred openings every chess player meets sooner or later: the Sicilian, the French, the Ruy Lopez, the Queen's Gambit, the King's Indian and friends. Club adds a thousand named lines from the main families. Expert goes deep, with three thousand variations, side lines and gambits.

Scoring

Every right answer is worth 10 points, so a perfect round scores 100. In Play the opening, finishing a line with a hint or a slip still earns 5. Right answers in a row build your streak, and your best score for each game and level is saved on this device.

Why learn opening names?

Names are hooks for ideas. Once you know a position is a Caro-Kann Advance, you can look up its plans, find model games and follow the typical pawn breaks. Every answer links to its page in our opening explorer, where you can step through the line and drill it until it sticks.