King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation
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Statistics from Lichess
10,225,791 games: White 47.1% / Draw 4.6% / Black 48.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 3,895,4863.9M | ||
| 2,119,6592.1M | ||
| 1,242,8751.2M | ||
| 1,214,4351.2M | ||
| 772,723773K | ||
| 228,617229K | ||
| King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, King's Gambit Reversed | 207,079207K | |
| 131,050131K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
−0.02 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bc5 5. Bg2 d6 6. c3 a5 7. O-O
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 49% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 18.5M | |
| 1400–1799 | 15.9M | |
| 1800–2199 | 3.5M | |
| 2200 and up | 84K | |
| Masters, over the board | 74 |
Master games
- Caruana, F. – Aronian, L.
- Aronian, L. – Firouzja, A.
- So, W. – Navara, D.
- Henriquez Villagra, C. – Sindarov, J.
- Mamedov, R. – Oparin, G.
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
King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation (ECO C20, Open Games) is a variation of the King's Pawn Game, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. d3 (2 moves).
In 10,225,791 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.1%, Black 48.3% and 4.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…Nc6, in 38% of those games.
It branches into 3 named variations; the most played are King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, King's Gambit Reversed and King's Pawn Game: Weber Gambit.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation
2…d5 scores best for Black: 51.8%, with Black winning 49.4% and White 45.8% of 773K games. The most played, 2…Nc6, scores 50.9% in 3.9M games, and 2…d6 scores lowest: 48.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…Nc6.
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: Leonardis Variation has lost ground since 2016: 0.38% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.48%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.48% | 169,856 |
| 2017 | 0.37% | 205,210 |
| 2018 | 0.3% | 237,486 |
| 2019 | 0.34% | 423,774 |
| 2020 | 0.37% | 1,092,653 |
| 2021 | 0.42% | 1,643,272 |
| 2022 | 0.43% | 1,609,042 |
| 2023 | 0.41% | 1,537,072 |
| 2024 | 0.4% | 1,418,524 |
| 2025 | 0.38% | 1,321,984 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.37% | 406,712 |
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 (3)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation (C20)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/kings-pawn-game-leonardis-variation