Caissa Codex
A38

English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Double Fianchetto

Chess diagram: English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Double Fianchetto after 7. b3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

43,418 games: White 49.4% / Draw 8.3% / Black 42.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
12,31812K
10,39410K
6,7856,785
4,6224,622
3,6023,602
2,6302,630
1,2061,206
900900

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026

Engine evaluation

−0.12 The position is about equal

Best play: 7... d5 8. Ba3 Qa5 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Bb2 Qd8 11. Qc1 Nxc3 12. dxc3

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

Overview

English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Double Fianchetto (ECO A38, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Three Knights, Fianchetto Variation, reached after 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. b3 (7 moves).

In 43,418 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.4%, Black 42.3% and 8.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…d6, in 28% of those games.

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How to play against the English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Double Fianchetto

7…d5 scores best for Black: 51.6%, with Black winning 46.8% and White 43.5% of 10K games. The most played, 7…d6, scores 45.3% in 12K games, and 7…b6 scores lowest: 42.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…d5.

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 5…Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. b3, the position after English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Three Knights, Fianchetto Variation also goes on to:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Double Fianchetto (A38)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-symmetrical-variation-double-fianchetto

https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-symmetrical-variation-double-fianchetto