What is an opening position page?

One specific board position, not a whole opening. It shows the move the engine prefers, the moves human players actually chose from that position and how each scored, and a written commentary on the position's plans and alternatives.

How are these positions chosen?

Automatically, by volume. A position is published when it belongs to a named opening and has been reached at least 1,000 times in the opening book. That currently yields 1,271 positions across 121 openings.

Where do the game statistics come from?

From the Lichess opening book — real games between human players, aggregated by position and split into Elo bands from 1000 to 2500. The most-played line is therefore not always the strongest one.

How is the best move decided?

Stockfish searches each position to at least depth 18 and its top move is shown as the engine's pick. It is independent of popularity: when the move most humans play differs from the engine's, both appear side by side.

Chess opening positions

Openings to explore

Black to playBest move: e5B0036 positionsKing's Pawn Game

White to playBest move: Nf3B20103 positionsSicilian Defense

Black to playBest move: Nc6C404 positionsKing's Knight Opening

Black to playBest move: Nf6D0279 positionsQueen's Pawn Game

White to playBest move: exd5B0168 positionsScandinavian Defense

White to playBest move: Nc3B1260 positionsCaro-Kann Defense

Black to playBest move: e6A5045 positionsIndian Defense

Black to playBest move: d5C0045 positionsFrench Defense

All openings, A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

French Defense45 positions

G

H

I

K

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

V

W

Z

Zukertort Opening50 positions

How this page is built

These are not editorial picks. Each position is one the opening book actually records, its statistics are what human players did there, and its evaluation is what the engine returns for that exact position — the two often disagree, and every page shows both.

Game data: Human games from the Lichess opening book, aggregated by position and by Elo band, from 1000 to 2500.
Evaluation: Stockfish, every position searched to at least depth 18.
What gets published: A position needs a named opening and at least 1,000 recorded games. 1,271 positions across 121 openings meet that bar today.
Last updated: October 4, 2026

About this data

What is an opening position page?: One specific board position, not a whole opening. It shows the move the engine prefers, the moves human players actually chose from that position and how each scored, and a written commentary on the position's plans and alternatives.
How are these positions chosen?: Automatically, by volume. A position is published when it belongs to a named opening and has been reached at least 1,000 times in the opening book. That currently yields 1,271 positions across 121 openings.
Where do the game statistics come from?: From the Lichess opening book — real games between human players, aggregated by position and split into Elo bands from 1000 to 2500. The most-played line is therefore not always the strongest one.
How is the best move decided?: Stockfish searches each position to at least depth 18 and its top move is shown as the engine's pick. It is independent of popularity: when the move most humans play differs from the engine's, both appear side by side.