Caissa Codex
A29

English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, a6

Chess diagram: English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, a6 after 6…a6

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

27,592 games: White 49.5% / Draw 5.2% / Black 45.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
20,78021K
2,9842,984
2,2462,246
299299
249249
249249
129129
127127

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.26 The position is about equal

Best play: 7. e3 O-O 8. O-O Ba7 9. b3 Rb8 10. h3 b5 11. Bb2 Re8

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, a6 (ECO A29, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bc5 5. d3 d6 6. Bg2 a6 (6 moves).

In 27,592 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.5%, Black 45.2% and 5.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 7. O-O, in 75% of those games.

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How to play against the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, a6

The most played answer, 7. O-O, also scores best for White: 52.5%, with White winning 49.9% and Black 44.8% of 21K games. Of the main answers, 7. Bg5 scores lowest: 50.3%. Stockfish's first choice is 7. e3.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 6…a6, the position after English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6 also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, a6 (A29)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-four-knights-variation-fianchetto-line-with-d6-a6

https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-four-knights-variation-fianchetto-line-with-d6-a6