English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Mecking Variation
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
334,144 games: White 53.0% / Draw 8.0% / Black 39.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 269,477269K | ||
| 43,32143K | ||
| 9,0379,037 | ||
| 4,2964,296 | ||
| 2,8542,854 | ||
| 2,7432,743 | ||
| 1,2381,238 | ||
| 293293 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 25, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.36 White is slightly better
Best play: 7... d6 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 e6 10. Rb1 Re8 11. b4 cxb4 12. Rxb4
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for White: White scores 58% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up and 58% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 5,115 | |
| 1400–1799 | 41K | |
| 1800–2199 | 187K | |
| 2200 and up | 117K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,836 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Ivanchuk, V. – Grischuk, A.
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Le Quang, L. – Grischuk, A.
- Jakovenko, D. – Svidler, P.
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, Mecking Variation (ECO A39, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Full Symmetry Line, reached after 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. d4 (7 moves).
In 334,144 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.0%, Black 39.0% and 8.0% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…cxd4, in 81% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Mecking Variation
7…d6 scores best for Black: 46.6%, with Black winning 42.9% and White 49.6% of 43K games. The most played answer, 7…cxd4, scores lowest: 42.4% in 269K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…d6.
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, Mecking Variation peaked in 2019 at 0.017% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.013% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.012% | 4,192 |
| 2017 | 0.014% | 7,677 |
| 2018 | 0.016% | 12,869 |
| 2019 | 0.017% | 21,277 |
| 2020 | 0.016% | 47,887 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 48,887 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 42,499 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 43,191 |
| 2024 | 0.012% | 42,372 |
| 2025 | 0.013% | 43,601 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.013% | 14,069 |
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: Symmetrical Variation, Mecking Variation (A39)”. Lichess data as of 25 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-symmetrical-variation-mecking-variation