The Oxford Companion to Chess lists 1,327 named openings and variants. Chess players' names are the most common sources of opening names. The name given to an opening is not always that of the first player to adopt it; often an opening is named for the player who was one of the first to popularise it or to publish analysis of it.
A Abonyi Variation of the Budapest Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.e4 Nxe5 5.f4 Nec6 – named after István Abonyi Adams Attack of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 – named after Weaver W. Adams Adler Variation of the Budapest Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 – named after Mór Adler Alapin's Opening – 1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 – named after Semyon Alapin Alapin Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.c3 – named after Semyon Alapin Albin Countergambit – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 – named after Adolf Albin Alburt Variation of the Alekhine's Defence – 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 – named after Lev Alburt Alekhine–Chatard Attack on the French Defence – 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.h4 – named after Alexander Alekhine and Eugene Chatard Alekhine's Defence – 1.e4 Nf6 – named after Alexander Alekhine Alekhine Variation of the Budapest Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.e4 – named after Alexander Alekhine Alien Gambit of the Caro–Kann Defence – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Ng5 – named after chess YouTuber Witty_Alien Allgaier Gambit of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ng5 – named after Johann Baptist Allgaier Amar Opening – 1.Nh3 – named after Charles Amar Anderssen's Opening – 1.a3 – named after Adolf Anderssen Arkell–Khenkin Variation of the Caro–Kann Defense – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 – named after Keith Arkell and Igor Khenkin Averbakh System of the King's Indian Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5 – named after Yuri Averbakh
B Balogh Defense – 1.e4 d6 2.d4 f5 – named after János Balogh Barcza System – 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 – named after Gedeon Barcza Barnes Opening – 1.f3 – named after Thomas Wilson Barnes Basman Defence – 1.e4 g5 – named after Michael Basman Becker Defense of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h6 – named after Albert Becker Bellon Gambit – 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 b5 – named after Juan Manuel Bellón López Benko Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 – named after Pal Benko Benko's Opening – 1.g3 – named after Pal Benko Bird Defense of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 – named after Henry Bird Bird's Opening – 1.f4 – named after Henry Bird Blackburne Shilling Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4 – named after Joseph Henry BlackburneWilhelm Steinitz, The Modern Chess Instructor (1889, reprinted 1990), Edition Olms AG, Zürich, p. xii. . Blackmar–Diemer Gambit – 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 – named after Armand Blackmar and Emil Josef Diemer Blumenfeld Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nf3 b5 – named after Benjamin Blumenfeld Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Nc3 – named after Samuel Boden and Lionel Kieseritzky Bogo-Indian Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ – named after Efim Bogoljubov Bogoljubov Defense – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 – named after Efim Bogoljubov Boleslavsky Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be2 e5 – named after Isaac Boleslavsky Bongcloud Attack – 1.e4 e5 2.Ke2 – named after Chess.com user Lenny_Bongcloud, who used this opening many times, and kept losing Bonsch-Osmolovsky Defense of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Ne7 – named after Mikhail Bonsch-Osmolovsky Botvinnik System of the Semi-Slav Defense – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 – named after Mikhail Botvinnik Botvinnik Variation of the English Opening – 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e4 – named after Mikhail Botvinnik Brentano Defense of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g5 – named after Franz Brentano Breyer Variation of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Qf3 – named after Gyula Breyer Breyer Variation of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Nb8 – named after Gyula Breyer
C Camara Defense – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qe7 – named after International Master Hélder CâmaraCÂMARA, Hélder. Diagonais: crônicas de xadrez. São Paulo : Saraiva, 1996. Capablanca Variation of the Reti Opening – 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.b3 Nf6 4.Bb2 Bg4 – named after José Raúl Capablanca Caro–Kann Defence – 1.e4 c6 – named after Horatio Caro and Marcus Kann Carrera Gambit of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Qh5 – named after Pietro Carrera Chekhover Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 – named after Vitaly Chekhover Chigorin Defence of the Queen's Gambit – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 – named after Mikhail Chigorin Chigorin Variation of the French Defence – 1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 – named after Mikhail Chigorin Chigorin Variation of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Na5 – named after Mikhail Chigorin Clemenz Opening – 1.h3 – named after Hermann Clemenz Cochrane Gambit of the Petrov's Defence – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7 – named after John Cochrane Colle System – 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 – named after Edgard Colle Colman Variation of the Two Knights Defense – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3 Rb8 – named after Eugene Ernest Colman Cozio Defence of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 – named after Carlo Cozio Cunningham Defense of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 – named after Alexander Cunningham
D Damiano Defence – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6 – named after Pedro Damiano although he gave the refutation rather than endorsing it traditionally attributed to Ruy López de Segura Desprez Opening – 1.h4 – named after Marcel Desprez Döry Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Ne4 – named after Ladislaus Döry Dubov Tarrasch – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 – named after Daniil Dubov Dunst Opening – 1.Nc3 – named after Ted A. Dunst Duras Variation of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c4 – named after Oldřich Duras Durkin Opening – 1.Na3 – named after Robert Durkin
E Eisenberg Gambit of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nh3 – named after Louis Eisenberg Englund Gambit – 1.d4 e5 – named after Fritz Englund Epishin Variation of the Benko Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 g6 6.Nc3 Bxa6 7.Nf3 d6 8.g3 Bg7 9.Bg2 Nbd7 10.Rb1 – named after Vladimir Epishin Evans Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 – named after William Davies Evans
F Fajarowicz Variation of the Budapest Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 – named after Sammi Fajarowicz Falkbeer Countergambit of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 – named after Ernst Falkbeer Fischer Defense of the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6 – named after Bobby FischerBobby Fischer, "A Bust to the King's Gambit", American Chess Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Summer 1961), pp. 3–9. Fleissig Variation of the Scotch Game – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Nc2 – named after Bernhard Fleissig Flohr–Mikenas–Carls Variation of the English Opening – 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 – named after Salo Flohr, Vladas Mikėnas and Carl Johan Margot Carls Flohr Variation of the Caro–Kann Defence – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nh3 – named after Salo Flohr Flohr Variation of the Grünfeld Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qa4+ – named after Salo Flohr Frankenstein–Dracula Variation of the Vienna Game – 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 – named after Frankenstein's monster and Count Dracula From's Gambit of the Bird's Opening – 1.f4 e5 – named after Martin Severin From Furman Variation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 – named after Semyon Furman
G Gajewski Gambit of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 d5 – named after Grzegorz Gajewski Glek Defense of the King's Indian Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Na6 – named after Igor Glek Glek Variation of the Four Knights Game – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 – named after Igor Glek Gligoric – Taimanov Variation of the King's Indian Defence 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 – named after Svetozar Gligorić and Mark Taimanov Goglidze Attack – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 d5 – named after Viktor Goglidze Göring Gambit of the Scotch Game – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 – named after Carl Göring Grivas Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 – named after Efstratios Grivas Grob's Attack – 1.g4 – named after Henri Grob Gunderam Defense – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qe7 – named after Gerhard Gunderam Gurgenidze Defense of the Modern Defense – 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 d5 5.e5 h5 – named after Bukhuti Gurgenidze Gurgenidze Variation of the Caro–Kann Defence – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 b5 – named after Bukhuti Gurgenidze Gurgenidze Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.Re1 e5 6.b4 – named after Bukhuti Gurgenidze Gusev Countergambit of the Queen's Gambit Declined – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c5 3.cxd5 Nf6 – named after Yuri Gusev Greco Defence – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qf6 – named after Gioachino Greco Grünfeld Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 – named after Ernst Grünfeld
H Hanham Variation of the Philidor Defense – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 – named after James Hanham Harrwitz Attack of the Queen's Gambit Declined – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bf4 – named after Daniel Harrwitz Hodgson Attack – 1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 – named after Julian Hodgson Hopton Attack of the Dutch Defence – 1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 – named after Hopton Horwitz Defense – 1.d4 e6 – named after Bernhard Horwitz Hromádka System of the Benoni Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 d6 – named after Karel Hromádka Hübner Variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 – named after Robert Hübner
I Ilyin-Genevsky Variation of the Dutch Defence – 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Qe8 – named after Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky
J Janowski Variation of the Old Indian Defence – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Bf5 – named after Dawid Janowski Jasnogrodsky Defense of the Rice Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.Bc4 d5 7.exd5 Bd6 8.0-0 Bxe5 9.Re1 Qe7 10.c3 Nh5 – named after Nicolai Jasnogrodsky Jerome Gambit of the Italian Game – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ – named after Alonzo Wheeler Jerome
K Kan Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 – named after Ilya Kan Karklins–Martinovsky Variation of the Petrov's Defence – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nd3 – named after Chicago masters Andrew Karklins and Eugene Martinovsky Karpov Variation of the Caro–Kann Defence – 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 – named after Anatoly Karpov Karpov Variation of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Nd7 – named after Anatoly Karpov Kasparov Variation of Pirc Defense – 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 – named after Garry Kasparov Katalymov Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 b6 – named after Boris Katalymov Keene Defense to the King's Gambit – 1.e4 e5 2.f4 Qh4+ 3.g3 Qe7 – named after Raymond Keene Keres Attack of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4 – named after Paul Keres Keres Defence – 1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ – named after Paul Keres Keres Variation of the Sicilian Defence – 1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 – named after Paul Keres Kevitz Variation of the English Opening – 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 Nc6 – named after Alexander Kevitz Kholmov Variation of the Ruy Lopez – 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Be6 – named after Ratmir Kholmov