A35

English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation

Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.

Statistics from Lichess

3,994,506 games: White 50.4% / Draw 5.7% / Black 43.9%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights, Fianchetto Variation	1,760,5981.8M
	1,038,0391M
	465,048465K
	353,419353K
	261,126261K
	40,98341K
	37,15537K
	10,67911K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.22 The position is about equal

Best play: 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. d4 e6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bg2 cxd4

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% 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	546K
1400–1799	1.9M
1800–2199	2.4M
2200 and up	364K
Masters, over the board	3,175

Master games

Grischuk, A. – So, W. ½–½, 2018
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Anand, V. 1–0, 2017
Carlsen, M. – Leko, P. 1–0, 2020
Nepomniachtchi, I. – Le Quang Liem ½–½, 2017
Aronian, L. – Le Quang Liem 1–0, 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 26, 2026

Overview

English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation (ECO A35, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Normal Variation, reached after 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 (2 moves).

In 3,994,506 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 43.9% and 5.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. g3, in 44% of those games.

It continues into one named variation, English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights, Fianchetto Variation. In all, 10 named lines continue from it.

Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.

Write a description or report a mistake

What would you like to send? A description of this line A mistake on this page (moves, name, statistics…)

Markdown supported (headings ###, bold, lists, links). Submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Your name (optional) Your email (optional, not published)

Description

How to play against the English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation

The most played answer, 3. g3 (English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights, Fianchetto Variation), also scores best for White: 54.0%, with White winning 51.1% and Black 43.0% of 1.8M games. Of the main answers, 3. d3 scores lowest: 50.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. Nf3.

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: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation has stayed between 0.13% and 0.17% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.15% in 2025).

0.13%0.15%0.17%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.13%	46,044
2017	0.14%	76,724
2018	0.15%	118,889
2019	0.17%	209,133
2020	0.17%	502,412
2021	0.16%	626,574
2022	0.15%	567,721
2023	0.15%	570,213
2024	0.15%	529,341
2025	0.15%	519,796
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.15%	165,195

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)

A36 Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights, Fianchetto Variation 3. g3

All 10 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation (A35)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-symmetrical-variation-two-knights-variation