Kádas Opening
Also known as Desprez Opening
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Statistics from Lichess
1,388,340 games: White 44.4% / Draw 4.5% / Black 51.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 439,315439K | ||
| 433,273433K | ||
| 90,76291K | ||
| 89,23089K | ||
| 50,14850K | ||
| 47,64648K | ||
| 41,81142K | ||
| 41,23341K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.47 Black is slightly better
Best play: 1... e5 2. c4 Nf6 3. e3 c6 4. d4 exd4 5. exd4 d5 6. Nc3
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 better this line does for White: White scores 41% under 1400, 51% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 3.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.7M | |
| 1800–2199 | 587K | |
| 2200 and up | 124K | |
| Masters, over the board | 53 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Wei Yi
- Fernandez, D. S. – Bacrot, E.
- Lagarde, M. – Santos Ruiz, M.
- Dzhumagaliev, Y. – Alekseev, E.
- Dzhumagaliev, Y. – Almasi, Z.
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
Kádas Opening (ECO A00, Flank Openings) is a chess opening that starts 1. h4.
In 1,388,340 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 44.4%, Black 51.0% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 1…e5, in 32% of those games.
It branches into 8 named variations; the most played are Kádas Opening: Koola-Koola Variation and Kádas Opening: Beginner's Trap.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Kádas Opening
The most played answer, 1…e5, also scores best for Black: 54.7%, with Black winning 52.6% and White 43.3% of 439K games. Of the main answers, 1…e6 scores lowest: 51.5%. Stockfish's first choice is also 1…e5.
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 Kádas Opening has stayed between 0.049% and 0.056% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.054% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.049% | 17,350 |
| 2017 | 0.056% | 30,569 |
| 2018 | 0.056% | 43,827 |
| 2019 | 0.051% | 63,299 |
| 2020 | 0.052% | 152,576 |
| 2021 | 0.056% | 217,739 |
| 2022 | 0.053% | 199,600 |
| 2023 | 0.051% | 191,945 |
| 2024 | 0.055% | 197,034 |
| 2025 | 0.054% | 187,649 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.057% | 62,849 |
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 (8)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Kádas Opening (A00)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kadas-opening