Réti Opening

The Réti is built on a simple idea: develop a piece and pressure the center without immediately filling it with pawns. With Nf3, the knight from g1 moves to f3 and controls e5 and d4. In many lines White then advances the c2-pawn to c4 to attack d5 from the side, and moves the g-pawn to g3 so the f1-bishop can develop to g2 on a long diagonal.

That flexibility lets White choose a structure after seeing Black's setup. The game may become an English Opening after c4, a King's Indian Attack if White continues with g3, Bg2, and the typical pawn setup on d3 and e4, or a queen's-pawn opening if White plays d4. Reaching a familiar position through a different move order is called a transposition.

Nf3 and c4 pressure the center from the outside

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StartNf3d5c4

The Réti can begin with a piece

White does not need to move a central pawn on move one to influence the center.

Why the name can vary

The name is not used identically by every opening database. Chess.com classifies 1.Nf3 as the Réti, while Lichess labels 1.Nf3 alone as the Zukertort Opening and uses Réti for later branches such as 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4. It is therefore better to recognize the ideas and position than to rely only on the label.