A48

London System, with Be2 5. Be2 O-O

Chess diagram: London System, with Be2 after 5…O-O

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

Statistics from Lichess

800,369 games: White 48.9% / Draw 6.2% / Black 45.0%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	377,308377K
	224,899225K
	84,18584K
	44,39144K
	33,59034K
	18,39718K
	9,5459,545
	2,0322,032

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

Engine evaluation

+0.14 The position is about equal

Best play: 6. h3 b6 7. a4 a6 8. O-O Bb7 9. c3 Nbd7 10. Qc2 Re8

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 50% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 47% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	50K
1400–1799	264K
1800–2199	505K
2200 and up	121K
Masters, over the board	1,439

Master games

Carlsen, M. – Ding, L. ½–½, 2020
Carlsen, M. – Nepomniachtchi, I. 1–0, 2020
Carlsen, M. – Vachier Lagrave, M. ½–½, 2017
Carlsen, M. – Harikrishna, P. ½–½, 2020
Vachier Lagrave, M. – Grischuk, A. 1–0, 2018

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

London System, with Be2 (ECO A48, Flank Openings) is a variation of the London System, with Be2, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 d6 5. Be2 O-O (5 moves).

In 800,369 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.9%, Black 45.0% and 6.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. O-O, in 47% 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

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 answer 5…O-O

6. h3 scores best for White: 54.0%, with White winning 50.9% and Black 42.8% of 225K games. The most played, 6. O-O, scores 52.7% in 377K games, and 6. c3 scores lowest: 48.1%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. h3.

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

This line peaked in 2020 at 0.047% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.025% in 2025.

0.023%0.025%0.047%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.023%	8,129
2017	0.034%	18,694
2018	0.045%	35,111
2019	0.042%	52,689
2020	0.047%	138,843
2021	0.033%	128,384
2022	0.028%	106,403
2023	0.026%	98,604
2024	0.025%	91,398
2025	0.025%	85,757
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.025%	27,224

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. “London System, with Be2 (A48)”. Lichess data as of 10 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/london-system-with-be2-2