A31

English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

1,571,771 games: White 47.1% / Draw 6.7% / Black 46.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	1,018,4451M
	263,127263K
	175,849176K
	31,33131K
	21,64322K
	20,77121K
	20,15420K
	12,53113K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 2, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.09 The position is about equal

Best play: 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 d5 6. e3 Nc6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bb5

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: White scores 51% under 1400, 52% at 2200 and up and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	72K
1400–1799	331K
1800–2199	953K
2200 and up	401K
Masters, over the board	5,190

Master games

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: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation (ECO A31, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, reached after 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3 (3 moves).

In 1,571,771 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.1%, Black 46.2% and 6.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…cxd4, in 65% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation

The most played answer, 3…cxd4, also scores best for Black: 50.2%, with Black winning 46.8% and White 46.3% of 1M games. Of the main answers, 3…e6 scores lowest: 48.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…cxd4.

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: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.054% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.077% (its peak: 0.089% in 2018).

0.077%0.054%0.089%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.077%	27,637
2017	0.079%	43,505
2018	0.089%	69,579
2019	0.081%	100,704
2020	0.073%	212,851
2021	0.058%	227,607
2022	0.056%	209,805
2023	0.056%	209,781
2024	0.054%	193,440
2025	0.054%	187,311
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.056%	61,180

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

Transpositions

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation (A31)”. Lichess data as of 2 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-symmetrical-variation-anti-benoni-variation