English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
8,647,784 games: White 51.1% / Draw 5.1% / Black 43.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| English Opening: Carls-Bremen System | 3,345,9953.3M | |
| 2,213,2772.2M | ||
| 981,951982K | ||
| 893,052893K | ||
| 818,519819K | ||
| 123,320123K | ||
| 93,87494K | ||
| 81,70582K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.04 The position is about equal
Best play: 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4 Bb4 5. d3 d6 6. Be2 Bc5 7. h3 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: Black scores 48% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.3M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 4.7M | |
| 2200 and up | 774K | |
| Masters, over the board | 25K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
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 26, 2026
Overview
English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation (ECO A22, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Sicilian, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 (2 moves).
In 8,647,784 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.1%, Black 43.8% and 5.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. g3, in 39% of those games.
It branches into 6 named variations; the most played are English Opening: Carls-Bremen System and English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation. In all, 28 named lines continue from it.
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, Two Knights Variation
3. Nf3 scores best for White: 56.6%, with White winning 53.9% and Black 40.7% of 2.2M games. The most played, 3. g3, scores 53.9% in 3.3M games, and 3. e4 scores lowest: 51.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3. Nf3.
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
Popularity by year
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation peaked in 2019 at 0.37% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.31% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.33% | 117,452 |
| 2017 | 0.34% | 188,952 |
| 2018 | 0.35% | 277,824 |
| 2019 | 0.37% | 463,820 |
| 2020 | 0.37% | 1,080,416 |
| 2021 | 0.35% | 1,351,099 |
| 2022 | 0.33% | 1,235,902 |
| 2023 | 0.33% | 1,236,418 |
| 2024 | 0.32% | 1,136,130 |
| 2025 | 0.31% | 1,083,762 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.31% | 339,978 |
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 (6)
- A22 Carls-Bremen System 3. g3
- A22 King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit 3. Nf3 e4 4. Ng5 c6
- A22 King's English Variation, Bellon Gambit 3. Nf3 e4 4. Ng5 b5
- A28 King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation 3. Nf3 Nc6
- A22 King's English, Erbenheimer Gambit 3. Nf3 e4 4. Ng5 Ng4
- A22 King's English, Mazedonisch 3. f4
Transpositions
All 28 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- A22 English Opening: Carls-Bremen System 3 moves
- A22 English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit 4 moves
- A22 English Opening: King's English Variation, Bellon Gambit 4 moves
- A28 English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation 3 moves
- A22 English Opening: King's English, Erbenheimer Gambit 4 moves
- A22 English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch 3 moves
- A28 English Opening: Four Knights System, Nimzowitsch Variation 4 moves
- A28 Four Knights Variation 8 moves
- A28 Bradley Beach Variation 4 moves
- A29 Fianchetto Line 4 moves
- A29 English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with .. d6, Be7 6 moves
- A28 Flexible Line 4 moves
- A28 Korchnoi Line 4 moves
- A28 Quiet Line 4 moves
- A24 English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line 3 moves
- A23 English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation 3 moves
- A23 English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation 4 moves
- A22 English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Reversed Dragon 3 moves
- A22 English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Smyslov System 3 moves
- A29 English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, Delayed .. Nc6 7 moves
- A29 with .. d6 6 moves
- A29 with Bc5 6 moves
- A29 with Nb6 6 moves
- A28 Quiet Line 5 moves
- A28 Quiet Line 7 moves
- A29 with .. d6 7 moves
- A29 a6 6 moves
- A29 h6 6 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation (A22)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-two-knights-variation