A23

English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

621,731 games: White 49.8% / Draw 5.3% / Black 44.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	488,508489K
	44,45344K
	43,71044K
	31,58832K
	5,6655,665
	5,6015,601
	731731
	352352

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

Engine evaluation

+0.13 The position is about equal

Best play: 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 Qb6 6. Nb3 a5 7. d3 a4 8. Be3 Qd8

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, 49% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	84K
1400–1799	292K
1800–2199	382K
2200 and up	57K
Masters, over the board	660

Master games

Nakamura, H. – Topalov, V. ½–½, 2012
Nakamura, H. – Wang, H. 0–1, 2012
Nakamura, H. – Bacrot, E. 1–0, 2012
Wang Yue – Vachier Lagrave, M. 0–1, 2013
Movsesian, S. – Navara, D. 1–0, 2016

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, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation (ECO A23, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Carls-Bremen System, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 (3 moves).

In 621,731 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.8%, Black 44.9% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Bg2, in 79% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation

4. Nf3 scores best for White: 56.0%, with White winning 53.0% and Black 40.9% of 44K games. The most played answer, 4. Bg2, scores lowest: 52.0% in 489K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. 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, Keres Variation has gained ground since 2016: 0.026% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.019%.

0.019%0.026%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.019%	6,616
2017	0.022%	12,061
2018	0.023%	17,872
2019	0.025%	31,147
2020	0.024%	71,227
2021	0.022%	87,740
2022	0.023%	86,511
2023	0.025%	92,829
2024	0.025%	88,874
2025	0.026%	88,738
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.026%	28,189

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

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation (A23)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-two-knights-variation-keres-variation