Editing Chess opening (section)

===Flank openings (including English, Réti, Bird's, and White fianchettos)===
{{Main article|Flank opening}}
The flank openings are the group of White openings typified by play on one or both flanks.
White plays in [[hypermodernism (chess)|hypermodern]] style, attacking the center from the flanks with pieces rather than occupying it with pawns. These openings are played often, and 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 trail only 1.e4 and 1.d4 in popularity as opening moves.

If White opens with 1.Nf3, the game often becomes one of the d4 openings (closed games or semi-closed games) by a different move order (called ''[[transposition (chess)|transposition]]''), but unique openings such as the [[Réti Opening|Réti]] and [[King's Indian Attack]] are also common. The Réti itself is characterized by White playing 1.Nf3, [[fianchetto]]ing one or both bishops, and not playing an early d4 (which would generally transpose into one of the 1.d4 openings).

The [[King's Indian Attack]] (KIA) is a system of development that White may use in reply to almost any Black opening moves. The characteristic KIA setup is 1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.0-0, 5.d3, 6.Nbd2, and 7.e4, although these moves may be played in several different orders. In fact, the KIA is often reached after 1.e4 when White uses it to respond to a Black attempt to play one of the semi-open games such as the Caro–Kann, French, or Sicilian, or even the open games that usually follow 1.e4 e5. Its greatest appeal may be that by adopting a set pattern of development, White can avoid the large amount of opening study required to prepare to meet the many different possible Black replies to 1.e4.<ref>[[Larry Evans (chess grandmaster)|Larry Evans]] wrote of the King's Indian Attack, "White's resilient setup is truly magical. It throws both players on their own resources and eliminates the need of memorizing long-winded columns of analysis." Larry Evans, ''The Chess Opening for You'', R.H.M. Press, 1975, p. 38. {{ISBN|0-89058-020-0}}.</ref>

The [[English Opening]] (1.c4) also frequently transposes into a d4 opening, but it can take on independent character as well including the Symmetrical Variation (1.c4 c5) and the Reversed Sicilian (1.c4 e5).

[[King's Fianchetto Opening|1.g3]], the King's Fianchetto Opening or Benko's Opening, received renewed attention after [[Pal Benko]] used it to defeat both [[Bobby Fischer|Fischer]] and [[Mikhail Tal|Tal]] in the 1962 [[Candidates Tournament]] in [[Curaçao]]. It is flexible and usually transposes into a known opening such as the King's Indian Attack or Reti Opening.

[[Larsen's Opening]] (1.b3) and the [[Sokolsky Opening]] (1.b4) are occasionally seen in grandmaster play.

With [[Bird's Opening]] (1.f4) White tries to get a strong grip on the e5-square.
The opening can resemble a Dutch Defense in reverse after 1.f4 d5, or Black may try to disrupt White by playing 1...e5{{chesspunc|!?}} ([[From's Gambit]]).
* 1.b3 [[Larsen's Opening]]
* 1.b4 [[Sokolsky Opening]]
* 1.c4 [[English Opening]]
* 1.Nf3 [[Zukertort Opening]] (characteristically followed by fianchettoing one or both bishops, and without an early d4)
* 1.Nf3, 2.g3, 3.Bg2, 4.0-0, 5.d3, 6.Nbd2, 7.e4 [[King's Indian Attack]] (KIA) (moves may be played in many different orders)
* 1.f4 [[Bird's Opening]]
* 1.g3 [[Benko Opening]]
* 1.g4 [[Grob's Attack]]