English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Sicilian
Chess opening · ECO A21 · 3 half-moves
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Sicilian is reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the English Opening: King's English Variation with 2. Nc3.
How often it is played
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Sicilian and its variations appeared in 0.57% of games — 17,092 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 81 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 52%, 3.9% were drawn and Black won 44%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.04 — which is level. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense | 1. c4 Nf6 | 0.46% |
| English Opening: Agincourt Defense | 1. c4 e6 | 0.38% |
| English Opening: Symmetrical Variation | 1. c4 c5 | 0.36% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 | 0.26% |
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Closed Sicilian | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 | 0.11% |
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Kramnik-Shirov Counterattack | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 | 0.03% |
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Keres Defense | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 c6 | 0.00% |
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Smyslov Defense | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 Bg4 | 0.00% |
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