Caissa Codex
A28

English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line 6…Re8 7. Qf5

Chess diagram: English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line after 7. Qf5

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Statistics from Lichess

3,586 games: White 55.6% / Draw 7.4% / Black 37.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
2,1342,134
765765
325325
198198
126126
1616
66
44

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.02 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... d6 8. Nxf6+ gxf6 9. Qh5 d5 10. a3 Bf8 11. b3 d4 12. Bb2

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, Quiet Line (ECO A28, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 O-O 6. Nd5 Re8 7. Qf5 (7 moves).

In 3,586 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 55.6%, Black 37.0% and 7.4% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…d6, in 60% of those games.

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How to answer 7. Qf5

7…Be7 scores best for Black: 49.1%, with Black winning 46.5% and White 48.3% of 325 games. The most played, 7…d6, scores 44.3% in 2,134 games, and 7…Bf8 scores lowest: 31.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 7…d6.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4…Bb4 5. Qc2 O-O 6. Nd5 Re8 7. Qf5, the position after English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Quiet Line (A28)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-four-knights-variation-quiet-line-3

https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-four-knights-variation-quiet-line-3