Best chess openings for White in master games
Lines where White makes the last move, ranked by White's score (wins plus half the draws) in over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ (the Lichess masters database). Among the 1,500 most-played lines, those reached in at least 300 games at this level.
In master games, Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation scores best for White: 66.0% (wins plus half the draws) in 532 games, ahead of Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense (64.6%) and Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Rhamphorhynchus (64.3%).
The 30 best-scoring lines
| # | Opening | Moves | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B | White score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D07 Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense, Janowski Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. Nf3 |
532 | 49 / 33 / 17 | 66.0% |
| 2 | D07 Queen's Gambit Declined: Chigorin Defense | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 |
1,444 | 49 / 32 / 19 | 64.6% |
| 3 | B06 Pterodactyl Defense: Eastern, Rhamphorhynchus | 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. dxc5 |
357 | 50 / 29 / 21 | 64.3% |
| 4 | B01 Scandinavian Defense: Lasker Variation | 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4… |
602 | 48 / 33 / 19 | 64.2% |
| 5 | A52 Indian Defense: Budapest Defense, Rubinstein Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Bf4 |
1,351 | 43 / 40 / 16 | 63.5% |
| 6 | B10 Caro-Kann Defense: Endgame Variation | 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3 dxe4 4. dxe4… |
653 | 41 / 45 / 14 | 63.2% |
| 7 | C64 Ruy Lopez: Classical Variation, Central Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 |
898 | 44 / 39 / 17 | 63.1% |
| 8 | D36 Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Reshevsky Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5… |
1,731 | 39 / 46 / 14 | 62.5% |
| 9 | C63 Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Dyckhoff Variation | 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Nc3 |
2,210 | 41 / 43 / 16 | 62.4% |
| 10 | E09 Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7… |
1,701 | 41 / 43 / 16 | 62.2% |
| 11 | A14 Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Stonewall Line | 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7… |
445 | 46 / 33 / 22 | 62.1% |
| 12 | D66 Queen's Gambit Declined: Orthodox Defense, Bd3 Line | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7… |
1,028 | 34 / 56 / 10 | 62.1% |
| 13 | A70 Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, New York Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5… |
2,289 | 43 / 37 / 20 | 61.6% |
| 14 | B76 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Modern Line | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
5,442 | 40 / 43 / 17 | 61.4% |
| 15 | E71 King's Indian Defense: Karpov System | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6… |
2,779 | 43 / 36 / 21 | 61.1% |
| 16 | A59 Benko Gambit Accepted: King Walk Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6… |
1,371 | 40 / 41 / 19 | 60.8% |
| 17 | B38 Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon, Maróczy Bind | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
6,863 | 40 / 41 / 19 | 60.8% |
| 18 | A18 English Opening: Mikenas-Carls Variation | 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 |
3,550 | 40 / 41 / 19 | 60.7% |
| 19 | A66 Benoni Defense: Pawn Storm Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5… |
2,323 | 47 / 28 / 25 | 60.6% |
| 20 | A57 Benko Gambit Accepted: Modern Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6… |
1,931 | 42 / 36 / 22 | 60.5% |
| 21 | D32 Tarrasch Defense: Two Knights Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5… |
4,786 | 37 / 47 / 16 | 60.4% |
| 22 | A11 Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, Gurevich System | 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 |
5,640 | 39 / 43 / 18 | 60.3% |
| 23 | A43 Benoni Defense: Old Benoni | 1. d4 c5 2. d5 |
6,695 | 45 / 29 / 25 | 60.2% |
| 24 | D09 Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Fianchetto Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6… |
612 | 46 / 28 / 26 | 60.2% |
| 25 | B76 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Panov Variation | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
1,201 | 40 / 40 / 20 | 60.2% |
| 26 | B75 Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Early Deviations | 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4… |
13K | 41 / 38 / 21 | 60.1% |
| 27 | D37 Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7… |
12K | 32 / 56 / 12 | 60.1% |
| 28 | D08 Queen's Gambit Declined: Albin Countergambit, Normal Line | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 |
1,166 | 44 / 32 / 24 | 60.1% |
| 29 | E71 King's Indian Defense: Makogonov Variation | 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6… |
6,295 | 42 / 35 / 22 | 60.0% |
| 30 | A08 Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld | 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d4 |
1,286 | 37 / 45 / 17 | 60.0% |
Numbers: the Lichess masters database of over-the-board games 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.