English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line
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Statistics from Lichess
555,629 games: White 52.3% / Draw 5.5% / Black 42.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 186,861187K | ||
| 146,743147K | ||
| 68,84869K | ||
| 52,74053K | ||
| 34,19934K | ||
| 30,16130K | ||
| 12,89313K | ||
| 10,52311K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.05 The position is about equal
Best play: 4... Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. bxc3 d6 7. e4 O-O 8. Be2 Ne7 9. O-O
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 54% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 168K | |
| 1400–1799 | 322K | |
| 1800–2199 | 278K | |
| 2200 and up | 110K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,244 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Caruana, F. – Ding Liren
- Duda, J. K. – Carlsen, M.
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
- Grischuk, A. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line (ECO A28, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 (4 moves).
In 555,629 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.3%, Black 42.2% and 5.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…Bb4, in 34% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line
The most played answer, 4…Bb4, also scores best for Black: 47.0%, with Black winning 44.1% and White 50.2% of 187K games. Of the main answers, 4…Bc5 scores lowest: 41.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4…Bb4.
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
Popularity by year
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line peaked in 2019 at 0.024% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.02% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.019% | 6,796 |
| 2017 | 0.022% | 12,091 |
| 2018 | 0.024% | 18,485 |
| 2019 | 0.024% | 30,485 |
| 2020 | 0.024% | 69,347 |
| 2021 | 0.023% | 91,608 |
| 2022 | 0.021% | 78,262 |
| 2023 | 0.021% | 79,263 |
| 2024 | 0.02% | 71,910 |
| 2025 | 0.02% | 68,395 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.02% | 21,411 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (2)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line (A28)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-four-knights-variation-quiet-line