Best chess openings for White for experts
Lines where White makes the last move, ranked by White'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, Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Variation scores best for White: 61.4% (wins plus half the draws) in 74K games, ahead of Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line (60.4%) and Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack (60.3%).
The 30 best-scoring lines
| # | Opening | Moves | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B | White score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B10 Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Variation | 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3 dxe4 4. dxe4… |
74K | 56 / 11 / 33 | 61.4% |
| 2 | E09 Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7… |
100K | 56 / 9 / 35 | 60.4% |
| 3 | C56 Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Max Lange Attack | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4… |
65K | 58 / 5 / 37 | 60.3% |
| 4 | C62 Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 |
79K | 56 / 8 / 36 | 59.9% |
| 5 | A08 Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld | 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d4 |
137K | 55 / 9 / 36 | 59.6% |
| 6 | C77 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Mackenzie Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6… |
59K | 56 / 7 / 37 | 59.5% |
| 7 | D30 Semi-Slav Defense: Quiet Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6… |
60K | 55 / 9 / 36 | 59.5% |
| 8 | A14 Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Stonewall Line | 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7… |
68K | 53 / 9 / 38 | 57.9% |
| 9 | D36 Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Reshevsky Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5… |
136K | 54 / 8 / 38 | 57.7% |
| 10 | B07 Pirc Defense: Byrne Variation | 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg5 |
200K | 55 / 6 / 40 | 57.4% |
| 11 | A08 King's Indian Attack: Sicilian Variation | 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 |
296K | 53 / 8 / 39 | 57.4% |
| 12 | B09 Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack, Unzicker Attack | 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7… |
82K | 54 / 7 / 39 | 57.4% |
| 13 | A52 Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Rubinstein Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 |
151K | 53 / 8 / 39 | 56.7% |
| 14 | A18 English Opening: Mikenas-Carls Variation | 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 |
267K | 53 / 7 / 40 | 56.6% |
| 15 | D31 Semi-Slav Defense: Marshall Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 |
146K | 53 / 7 / 40 | 56.6% |
| 16 | B10 Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Offer | 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3 |
207K | 52 / 9 / 39 | 56.5% |
| 17 | A28 English Opening: Four Knights System, Nimzowitsch Variation | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4 |
74K | 53 / 7 / 40 | 56.5% |
| 18 | B54 Sicilian Defense: Prins Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
186K | 52 / 9 / 39 | 56.4% |
| 19 | E98 King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6… |
167K | 53 / 6 / 41 | 56.3% |
| 20 | E92 King's Indian Defense: Exchange Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6… |
79K | 50 / 12 / 38 | 56.2% |
| 21 | C50 Italian Game: Deutz Gambit | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O… |
97K | 53 / 6 / 41 | 56.2% |
| 22 | C22 Center Game: Paulsen Attack Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 |
163K | 53 / 6 / 41 | 56.0% |
| 23 | D10 Slav Defense: Exchange Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 |
580K | 52 / 9 / 40 | 56.0% |
| 24 | D38 Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defense, Alekhine Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4… |
66K | 52 / 7 / 40 | 55.9% |
| 25 | A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Anti-Anti-Grünfeld | 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e4 |
228K | 52 / 8 / 40 | 55.8% |
| 26 | A21 English Opening: King's English Variation | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 |
68K | 52 / 7 / 41 | 55.8% |
| 27 | B93 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Amsterdam Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
96K | 53 / 6 / 41 | 55.6% |
| 28 | B71 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Levenfish Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
67K | 52 / 6 / 41 | 55.6% |
| 29 | E81 King's Indian Defense: Steiner Attack | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6… |
77K | 52 / 6 / 41 | 55.6% |
| 30 | C47 Four Knights Game: Gunsberg Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. a3 |
72K | 51 / 9 / 40 | 55.5% |
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.