A23

English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation 4. Bg2 c6

Chess diagram: English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Keres Variation after 4…c6

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Statistics from Lichess

281,591 games: White 52.5% / Draw 4.8% / Black 42.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	149,474149K
	62,64963K
	35,85736K
	15,08015K
	9,3619,361
	1,8391,839
	1,6051,605
	1,2401,240

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 13, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.14 The position is about equal

Best play: 5. e3 Bb6 6. d4 exd4 7. exd4 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 cxd5

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 46% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	58K
1400–1799	192K
1800–2199	159K
2200 and up	11K
Masters, over the board	311

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren ½–½, 2018
So, W. – Ding Liren 1–0, 2019
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Anand, V. 1–0, 2019
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Anand, V. 1–0, 2019
Shankland, S. – Ding Liren 0–1, 2019

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 Bc5 4. Bg2 c6 (4 moves).

In 281,591 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.5%, Black 42.7% and 4.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. e3, in 53% of those games.

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Description

How to answer 4…c6

5. Nf3 scores best for White: 56.0%, with White winning 53.8% and Black 41.8% of 63K games. The most played, 5. e3, scores 55.2% in 149K games, and 5. d3 scores lowest: 53.5%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. e3.

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

This line has gained ground since 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0091%.

0.0091%0.011%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0091%	3,235
2017	0.011%	5,829
2018	0.011%	8,314
2019	0.011%	14,125
2020	0.012%	33,808
2021	0.011%	42,867
2022	0.01%	38,980
2023	0.011%	39,846
2024	0.011%	38,959
2025	0.011%	38,787
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.011%	12,520

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 13 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-kings-english-variation-two-knights-variation-keres-variation-2