Best chess openings for Black for experts
Lines where Black makes the last move, ranked by Black's score (wins plus half the draws) in rated Lichess games between players rated 2200 and up. Among the 1,500 most-played lines, those reached in at least 50,000 games at this level.
Among Lichess players rated 2200 and up, Mikenas Defense: Lithuanian Variation scores best for Black: 56.1% (wins plus half the draws) in 61K games, ahead of Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation, Kholmov Gambit (54.7%) and Sicilian Defense: Paulsen-Basman Defense (53.8%).
The 30 best-scoring lines
| # | Opening | Moves | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B | Black score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A40 Mikenas Defense: Lithuanian Variation | 1. d4 Nc6 2. c4 e5 3. d5 Nce7 |
61K | 41 / 5 / 53 | 56.1% |
| 2 | C42 Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation, Kholmov Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 4. Qe2… |
63K | 40 / 12 / 49 | 54.7% |
| 3 | B40 Sicilian Defense: Paulsen-Basman Defense | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
55K | 43 / 6 / 51 | 53.8% |
| 4 | B00 Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Exchange Variation | 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 |
132K | 43 / 7 / 50 | 53.5% |
| 5 | C42 Petrov's Defense: Damiano Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 |
93K | 42 / 11 / 48 | 53.1% |
| 6 | B50 Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations, Anti-Qxd4 Move Order | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 |
89K | 43 / 7 / 49 | 53.0% |
| 7 | B00 Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation | 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 |
266K | 44 / 6 / 50 | 52.7% |
| 8 | C89 Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6… |
101K | 44 / 8 / 49 | 52.7% |
| 9 | A54 Old Indian Defense: Ukrainian Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 e5 |
103K | 43 / 8 / 48 | 52.6% |
| 10 | C34 King's Gambit Accepted: Schallopp Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 |
53K | 45 / 6 / 50 | 52.6% |
| 11 | C30 King's Gambit Declined: Classical Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 |
87K | 45 / 5 / 50 | 52.5% |
| 12 | D32 Tarrasch Defense: Schara Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 cxd4 |
59K | 44 / 8 / 49 | 52.4% |
| 13 | A50 Mexican Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 |
129K | 44 / 7 / 49 | 52.4% |
| 14 | B32 Sicilian Defense: Godiva Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
91K | 44 / 7 / 49 | 52.4% |
| 15 | A41 Rat Defense: English Rat | 1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5 |
299K | 43 / 8 / 48 | 52.3% |
| 16 | B43 Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Wing Attack | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6… |
116K | 45 / 6 / 49 | 52.3% |
| 17 | B29 Sicilian Defense: Nimzowitsch Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 |
245K | 44 / 8 / 48 | 52.2% |
| 18 | B06 Modern Defense: Norwegian Defense | 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 |
119K | 45 / 6 / 49 | 52.2% |
| 19 | B01 Scandinavian Defense: Icelandic-Palme Gambit | 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. c4 e6 |
84K | 45 / 6 / 49 | 52.2% |
| 20 | B78 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Old Line | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
68K | 45 / 6 / 49 | 52.1% |
| 21 | C89 Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Modern Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6… |
54K | 44 / 8 / 48 | 52.1% |
| 22 | C63 Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 |
286K | 45 / 7 / 48 | 51.8% |
| 23 | B01 Scandinavian Defense: Portuguese Gambit | 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 |
211K | 45 / 7 / 48 | 51.7% |
| 24 | C21 Danish Gambit Declined: Sörensen Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 d5 |
79K | 44 / 8 / 48 | 51.6% |
| 25 | C80 Ruy Lopez: Open | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6… |
109K | 44 / 10 / 47 | 51.6% |
| 26 | B21 Sicilian Defense: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted, Paulsen Formation | 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3… |
124K | 46 / 5 / 49 | 51.6% |
| 27 | A22 English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Smyslov System | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 |
67K | 45 / 7 / 48 | 51.6% |
| 28 | C50 Four Knights Game: Italian Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3… |
128K | 45 / 7 / 48 | 51.5% |
| 29 | D31 Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 dxc4 |
165K | 46 / 6 / 49 | 51.5% |
| 30 | A00 Grob Opening: Grob Gambit Declined | 1. g4 d5 2. Bg2 c6 |
53K | 45 / 6 / 48 | 51.5% |
Numbers: rated blitz, rapid and classical games on Lichess between players rated 2200 and up, fetched for the 1,500 most-played lines and refreshed monthly. Each name appears once, as its most-played line. At this level, sharp lines in which a natural-looking reply goes wrong score highest. A high score says how a line does in practice, not that it is objectively best.