English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
17,312 games: White 51.5% / Draw 3.7% / Black 44.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 9,5859,585 | ||
| 3,8123,812 | ||
| 1,6011,601 | ||
| 1,2631,263 | ||
| 343343 | ||
| 264264 | ||
| 151151 | ||
| 8282 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 26, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.23 The position is about equal
Best play: 3... exf4 4. d4 d5 5. Bxf4 Bd6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. cxd5 h6 8. Bh4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch (ECO A22, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 (3 moves).
In 17,312 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.5%, Black 44.8% and 3.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…exf4, in 55% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch
3…d6 scores best for Black: 49.4%, with Black winning 47.3% and White 48.5% of 1,601 games. The most played, 3…exf4, scores 47.1% in 9,585 games, and 3…Nc6 scores lowest: 45.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 3…exf4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch (A22)”. Lichess data as of 26 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-mazedonisch