English Opening: King's English Variation
Chess opening · ECO A20 · 2 half-moves
1. c4 e5
The English Opening: King's English Variation is reached after 1. c4 e5. It is White's move in the position shown.
It branches from the English Opening with 1… e5.
How often it is played
The English Opening: King's English Variation and its variations appeared in 0.87% of games — 26,172 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 60 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 52%, 4.0% 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 +0.24 — a small edge for White. 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, Reversed Sicilian | 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 | 0.57% |
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation | 1. c4 e5 2. Nf3 | 0.02% |
| English Opening: Drill Variation | 1. c4 e5 2. g3 h5 | 0.00% |
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Kahiko-Hula Gambit | 1. c4 e5 2. e3 Nf6 3. f4 exf4 4. Nf3 | 0.00% |
Check your own games
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