English Opening: Closed, Taimanov Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
19 games: White 42.1% / Draw 5.3% / Black 52.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1414 | ||
| 22 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 11 | ||
| 11 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.73 White is better
Best play: 6. b4 a6 7. e3 d6 8. d3 Ng4 9. Nge2 O-O 10. O-O f5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
English Opening: Closed, Taimanov Variation (ECO A25, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Closed Sicilian, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Rb1 Nh6 5. Bg2 Bg7 (5 moves).
In 19 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 42.1%, Black 52.6% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. b4, in 74% of those games. That is too few games for the percentages to mean much.
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Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Closed, Taimanov Variation (A25)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-closed-taimanov-variation