English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
699,135 games: White 51.8% / Draw 4.8% / Black 43.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 333,240333K | ||
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch-Flohr Variation | 133,816134K | |
| 127,273127K | ||
| 46,70447K | ||
| 25,37825K | ||
| 6,6306,630 | ||
| 5,8545,854 | ||
| 4,3284,328 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... e4 3. Nd4 Nc6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nc3 Ne5 6. f4 Nd3+ 7. Bxd3
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 49% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 53% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 480K | |
| 1400–1799 | 503K | |
| 1800–2199 | 371K | |
| 2200 and up | 84K | |
| Masters, over the board | 571 |
Master games
- Grischuk, A. – Caruana, F.
- Giri, A. – Ding, L.
- Giri, A. – Yu, Y.
- Svidler, P. – Gelfand, B.
- Mamedyarov, S. – Maghsoodloo, P.
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, Nimzowitsch Variation (ECO A20, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nf3 (2 moves).
In 699,135 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.8%, Black 43.4% and 4.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…Nc6, in 48% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch-Flohr Variation.
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, Nimzowitsch Variation
2…e4 (English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch-Flohr Variation) scores best for Black: 48.1%, with Black winning 45.9% and White 49.7% of 134K games. The most played, 2…Nc6, scores 46.6% in 333K games, and 2…Nf6 scores lowest: 42.0%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2…e4.
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, Nimzowitsch Variation has stayed between 0.024% and 0.029% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.027% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.024% | 8,593 |
| 2017 | 0.025% | 13,630 |
| 2018 | 0.026% | 20,468 |
| 2019 | 0.028% | 35,228 |
| 2020 | 0.029% | 85,621 |
| 2021 | 0.027% | 105,155 |
| 2022 | 0.026% | 97,772 |
| 2023 | 0.027% | 101,768 |
| 2024 | 0.027% | 96,997 |
| 2025 | 0.027% | 93,249 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.027% | 29,587 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation (A20)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-nimzowitsch-variation