Caissa Codex
B00

King's Pawn Game

1.e4, the King's Pawn Game, is the most popular first move in chess, ahead of 1.d4. Read the guide

Chess diagram: King's Pawn Game after 1. e4

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Statistics from Lichess

1,527,871,757 games: White 49.0% / Draw 4.7% / Black 46.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
529,630,653529.6M
Sicilian Defense 366,971,623367M
172,874,259172.9M
Scandinavian Defense 132,306,161132.3M
Caro-Kann Defense 129,470,078129.5M
Pirc Defense 60,102,97460.1M
Modern Defense 47,579,87847.6M
Alekhine Defense 28,211,87228.2M

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 10, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.21 The position is about equal

Best play: 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3

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 52% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 54% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 932.6M
1400–1799 1.3B
1800–2199 781.5M
2200 and up 92M
Masters, over the board 1.3M

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 26, 2026

Description

1.e4, the King's Pawn Game, is the most popular first move in chess, ahead of 1.d4. The pawn takes a central square, attacks d5 and opens lines for the king's bishop and the queen. Bobby Fischer called it "best by test".

The idea

With 1.e4 White claims the centre straight away and prepares quick development: the bishop can come out to c4 or b5, the knight to f3, and White can castle early. The e4-pawn is not protected yet, so it becomes a target for Black's first replies.

Black's main answers

Rare replies

Among the rarer answers are the Nimzowitsch Defense 1...Nc6, the Owen Defense 1...b6, and the St. George Defense 1...a6, with which Tony Miles beat Anatoly Karpov in 1980.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • Fast development and early castling.
  • Open, tactical positions are common, especially after 1...e5.
  • Every major defence is well studied, so there is plenty of material to learn from.

Weaknesses

  • The e4-pawn is a target from move one.
  • Black can choose the character of the game: a sharp Sicilian, a closed French or a quiet Caro-Kann.

Who should play it

1.e4 suits almost everyone, and it is the classic recommendation for beginners, because the open games teach development, the centre and tactics. Stronger players choose it when they are ready to meet each of Black's defences with a prepared line.

The numbers

1.e4 is the most-played first move on Lichess. White wins 48.1–50.2% and Black 44.8–46.5% at every rating band; draws rise from 4% under 1400 to 7.1% from 2200 up. In master games over the board, White wins 32%, Black 24.2% and 43.8% are drawn.

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How to play against the King's Pawn Game

1…c6 (Caro-Kann Defense) scores best for Black: 50.2%, with Black winning 47.6% and White 47.2% of 129.5M games. The most played answer, 1…e5, scores lowest: 47.0% in 529.6M games. Stockfish's first choice is 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 King's Pawn Game holds steady at about 58.4% of Lichess games a year since 2016.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
201660.5%21,609,440
201759.5%32,731,887
201858.0%45,577,243
201958.4%72,905,143
202058.8%172,331,453
202160.0%234,639,537
202259.3%222,679,536
202359.2%222,466,822
202459.0%211,517,322
202558.4%202,723,432
2026 (Jan–Apr)58.1%63,709,853

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 (17)

All 755 named lines that continue from here

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Sources

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Game (B00)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game

https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game