Most probably that was the English Opening. There are two kinds of terms at the start of a game: the opening (chosen by white) and the defense (chosen by black).
The English is the only one that white can set up for himself, the others (like the Scotch and the Danish Gambit) require a few committing moves by black before they can be applied.
Black "national" defenses include the Sicilian, French, Scandanavian, and the Russian Game (if I've overlooked any, the readers here will correct that).
As a beginner, don't worry too much about the openings--these are more for tournament players who already know the basics. But if it's just to satisfy your curiosity, then OK. If you want to improve from your current level, learn basic mates and endgames. These will mean much more to you, and just by becoming more proficient at them, it will help you at the start--you'll know where you want to go from the word go. And remember--we play this game because it's fun! The higher in strength you go, the more people seem to forget that. So have fun!
While on my Iraq Deployment I picked up Playing Chess from the kuwaitie Locals and even a Chess Set while i was there waitting to enter into Iraq. After several months I came across another soldier that named my Opening acording to how I actually set my pieces up. I belive he called acording to a coutries nationality. My question is, What Openings are named after nationalities and how do you begin initiating them. I belived he called mine a British Opener...
Thank You Very much from a Novice
BryanKM33