English Opening: Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian
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Statistics from Lichess
268,469 games: White 50.1% / Draw 5.3% / Black 44.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 91,02891K | ||
| 53,74454K | ||
| 51,64052K | ||
| 45,16145K | ||
| 10,75811K | ||
| 5,6905,690 | ||
| 3,1873,187 | ||
| 1,8481,848 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.29 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. e5 Ng8 5. d4 cxd4 6. Qxd4 Nc6 7. Qf4 d6 8. Nf3 Nge7
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 49% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 45% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 37K | |
| 1400–1799 | 95K | |
| 1800–2199 | 164K | |
| 2200 and up | 45K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,047 |
Master games
- Ding Liren – Radjabov, T.
- Caruana, F. – Rapport, R.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Maghsoodloo, P. – Giri, A.
- Kasparov, G. – Beliavsky, A. G.
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: Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian (ECO A19, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Mikenas-Carls Variation, reached after 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 c5 (3 moves).
In 268,469 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.1%, Black 44.6% and 5.3% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. e5, in 34% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Flohr-Mikenas-Carls Variation, Nei Gambit.
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: Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian
The most played answer, 4. e5, also scores best for White: 54.9%, with White winning 52.4% and Black 42.5% of 91K games. Of the main answers, 4. d3 scores lowest: 49.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. e5.
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: Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian peaked in 2018 at 0.012% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0099% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.01% | 3,649 |
| 2017 | 0.011% | 5,994 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,810 |
| 2019 | 0.012% | 15,209 |
| 2020 | 0.011% | 32,599 |
| 2021 | 0.01% | 40,590 |
| 2022 | 0.01% | 38,197 |
| 2023 | 0.01% | 37,571 |
| 2024 | 0.0098% | 35,276 |
| 2025 | 0.0099% | 34,443 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0098% | 10,697 |
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)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian (A19)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-mikenas-carls-sicilian