Best chess openings for Black for intermediate players
Lines where Black makes the last move, ranked by Black's score — wins plus half the draws — in rated Lichess games between players rated 1400 to 1799. Among the 500 most-played lines, those reached in at least 50,000 games at this level.
| # | Opening | Moves | Games | White / Draw / Black | Black score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C02 French Defense: Advance Variation | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 |
16M | 43 / 4 / 53 | 54.6% |
| 2 | A56 Benoni Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 |
2M | 45 / 4 / 51 | 53.1% |
| 3 | B40 Sicilian Defense: French Variation, Open | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 |
8M | 46 / 4 / 50 | 51.6% |
| 4 | B27 Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Dragon | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 |
4.8M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 51.3% |
| 5 | B01 Scandinavian Defense: Modern Variation | 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 |
16.2M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 51.2% |
| 6 | B40 Sicilian Defense: French Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 |
20.5M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 51.1% |
| 7 | B54 Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations, Main Line | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
9.3M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 51.1% |
| 8 | B32 Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
4.1M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 51.0% |
| 9 | C11 French Defense: Classical Variation | 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 |
2.3M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 51.0% |
| 10 | B90 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
5.4M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 50.9% |
| 11 | B10 Caro-Kann Defense | 1. e4 c6 |
83.7M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 50.9% |
| 12 | A48 East Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 |
4.4M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 50.8% |
| 13 | B20 Sicilian Defense | 1. e4 c5 |
219.4M | 47 / 4 / 49 | 50.6% |
| 14 | B23 Sicilian Defense: Closed, Traditional | 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 |
6.9M | 48 / 4 / 49 | 50.5% |
| 15 | B44 Sicilian Defense: Taimanov Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
4.7M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 50.4% |
| 16 | B01 Scandinavian Defense: Main Line | 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 |
13.7M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 50.4% |
| 17 | B50 Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 |
36.2M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 50.2% |
| 18 | E60 Indian Defense: West Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 |
10.2M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 50.2% |
| 19 | C00 French Defense | 1. e4 e6 |
121.7M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 50.2% |
| 20 | A43 Benoni Defense: Old Benoni | 1. d4 c5 |
15.4M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 50.1% |
| 21 | C50 Four Knights Game: Italian Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3… |
11.2M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 49.9% |
| 22 | B13 Caro-Kann Defense: Exchange Variation | 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 |
9.3M | 48 / 5 / 48 | 49.9% |
| 23 | A04 Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation | 1. Nf3 c5 |
4.4M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 49.8% |
| 24 | B30 Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 |
52.5M | 48 / 4 / 48 | 49.6% |
| 25 | A40 Englund Gambit | 1. d4 e5 |
29.1M | 49 / 4 / 48 | 49.5% |
| 26 | A45 Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 |
79.6M | 48 / 4 / 47 | 49.5% |
| 27 | B02 Alekhine Defense | 1. e4 Nf6 |
14.4M | 49 / 4 / 48 | 49.4% |
| 28 | B32 Sicilian Defense: Open | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 |
20.5M | 49 / 4 / 47 | 49.4% |
| 29 | C40 Elephant Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d5 |
6.3M | 49 / 3 / 48 | 49.3% |
| 30 | B32 Sicilian Defense: Löwenthal Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
4.9M | 49 / 4 / 47 | 49.3% |
Numbers: rated blitz, rapid and classical games on Lichess between players rated 1400 to 1799, fetched for the 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.