English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6
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Statistics from Lichess
116,226 games: White 50.3% / Draw 5.2% / Black 44.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 30,14630K | ||
| 27,14427K | ||
| h6 | 14,66515K | |
| 12,31412K | ||
| a6 | 9,2619,261 | |
| 6,0216,021 | ||
| 5,4315,431 | ||
| 4,2074,207 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.08 The position is about equal
Best play: 6... Nd4 7. Nxd4 Bxd4 8. O-O O-O 9. Qc2 a5 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6 (ECO A29, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bc5 5. d3 d6 6. Bg2 (6 moves).
In 116,226 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.3%, Black 44.5% and 5.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 6…O-O, in 26% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, h6 and English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, a6.
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How to play against the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6
6…h6 (h6) scores best for Black: 50.3%, with Black winning 47.4% and White 46.9% of 15K games. The most played, 6…O-O, scores 47.9% in 30K games, and 6…Bd7 scores lowest: 43.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 6…Nd4.
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
Variations (3)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6 (A29)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-four-knights-variation-fianchetto-line-with-d6