English Opening: Reversed Sicilian
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 · A20–A29
Part of English Opening
Starting positionWhite to move
0 / 12
The extra tempo has to be spent well
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
The idea
Black plays ...e5 and the game becomes a Sicilian with reversed colours, where White owns the extra tempo and Black must attack to compensate.
Main line: 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O e4
What White wants
- Use the extra tempo to build a comfortable kingside setup
- Meet ...e4 with Nd4 or Ne1 and keep the structure sound
- Play d3 and Be3 and attack the black centre later
What Black wants
- Push ...e4 to gain space and cramp the white knight
- Attack on the kingside where the extra space is
- Trade the bishop on g2 with ...Bh3 in the right moment
Key idea
Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.
The extra tempo has to be spent well
In the real Sicilian Black spends tempi on ...e5 and ...d6 to get counterplay. Here White is a tempo up and Black must accept a passive version — which is why ...Bb4 and ...e4 are so important for Black.
Common mistake
Attacking the e4 pawn too early with d3 and f3. The reversed Sicilian rewards patience: White plays Nd4 or Ne1, castles, and hits the overextended pawn once the pieces are ready — not before.
Representative position
The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.
r1bq1rk1/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/8/1bP1p3/2N2NP1/PP1PPPBP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 7
Analyze this position