Chess Opening Statistics

Explore opening families ranked by expected score. Filter by side to see what you can play as White or Black.

Source Lichess·Games 2.1B·Range 2023-12 to 2025-11·Updated January 2026

Games Analyzed0.0B
Opening Families0
Rating Brackets00 to 2500+
Time Controls0UltraBullet to Classical
Why This Matters

Openings are side-specific. So are the expected scores.

Results differ by side and by rating bracket—use the filters below to see what actually wins in your games.

Browse Openings

56 families ranked by White expected score

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These are opening families. Some variations require opponent cooperation — click into any opening to see the full breakdown.

Total56
Games1.0B
Expected Score50.8%
Avg Edge+1.3%

56 families

Page 1 of 3

All Opening Families

Every opening family in the dataset, A–Z. Each page ranks the family's variations by expected score with rating and time-control breakdowns.

Alekhine Defense54 var.Amar Opening2 var.Amazon Attack2 var.Amsterdam Attack1 var.Anderssen's Opening2 var.Australian Defense1 var.Barnes Defense1 var.Barnes Opening5 var.Benko Gambit22 var.Benoni Defense47 var.Bird Opening27 var.Bishop's Opening35 var.Blackmar-Diemer Gambit45 var.Blumenfeld Countergambit4 var.Bogo-Indian Defense10 var.Bongcloud Attack1 var.Borg Defense4 var.Canard Opening1 var.Caro-Kann Defense91 var.Carr Defense2 var.Catalan Opening13 var.Center Game16 var.Clemenz Opening2 var.Colle System2 var.Crab Opening1 var.Creepy Crawly Formation1 var.Czech Defense1 var.Danish Gambit9 var.Döry Defense1 var.Dresden Opening1 var.Duras Gambit1 var.Dutch Defense56 var.East Indian Defense1 var.Elephant Gambit4 var.English Defense6 var.English Opening127 var.English Orangutan1 var.Englund Gambit26 var.Formation2 var.Four Knights Game33 var.French Defense176 var.Fried Fox Defense1 var.Global Opening1 var.Goldsmith Defense2 var.Grob Opening18 var.Grünfeld Defense48 var.Guatemala Defense1 var.Gunderam Defense1 var.Hippopotamus Defense1 var.Horwitz Defense2 var.Hungarian Opening18 var.Indian Defense50 var.Irish Gambit1 var.Italian Game142 var.Kangaroo Defense2 var.King's Gambit160 var.King's Indian Attack12 var.King's Indian Defense104 var.King's Knight Opening3 var.King's Pawn Game34 var.King's Pawn Opening3 var.K��das Opening1 var.Lasker Simul Special1 var.Latvian Gambit25 var.Lemming Defense1 var.Lion Defense5 var.London System2 var.Marienbad System2 var.Mexican Defense2 var.Mieses Opening4 var.Mikenas Defense4 var.Modern Defense35 var.Montevideo Defense1 var.Neo-Grünfeld Defense10 var.Nimzo-Indian Defense80 var.Nimzo-Larsen Attack13 var.Nimzowitsch Defense47 var.Norwegian Defense1 var.Old Indian Defense13 var.Owen Defense8 var.Paleface Attack1 var.Petrov's Defense38 var.Philidor Defense37 var.Pirc Defense22 var.Polish Defense2 var.Polish Opening24 var.Ponziani Opening13 var.Portuguese Opening3 var.Pseudo Queen's Indian Defense1 var.Pterodactyl Defense32 var.Queen's Gambit177 var.Queen's Indian Accelerated1 var.Queen's Indian Defense47 var.Queen's Pawn Game48 var.Queen's Pawn, Mengarini Attack1 var.Rapport-Jobava System1 var.Rapport-Jobava System, with e61 var.Rat Defense11 var.Richter-Veresov Attack7 var.Robatsch Defense1 var.Rubinstein Opening5 var.Russian Game38 var.Ruy Lopez180 var.R��ti Opening1 var.Saragossa Opening1 var.Scandinavian Defense42 var.Scotch Game47 var.Semi-Slav Defense44 var.Sicilian Defense315 var.Slav Defense40 var.Slav Indian2 var.Sodium Attack2 var.St. George Defense4 var.Tarrasch Defense24 var.Three Knights Opening5 var.Torre Attack6 var.Trompowsky Attack9 var.Valencia Opening1 var.Van Geet Opening31 var.Van't Kruijs Opening5 var.Venezolana Opening1 var.Vienna Gambit, with Max Lange Defense15 var.Vienna Game36 var.Vulture Defense1 var.Wade Defense1 var.Ware Defense2 var.Ware Opening6 var.Yusupov-Rubinstein System1 var.Zaire Defense1 var.Zukertort Defense2 var.Zukertort Opening39 var.

What are the best chess openings for White and Black?

Snapshot

TrueElo analyzed 2.1B rated Lichess games (2023-12 to 2025-11) across 131 opening families. Rank openings from your perspective (playing White or playing Black), then break it down by rating bracket and time control. Every win/draw/loss estimate includes a 90% Bayesian credible interval and sample size.

Methodology
Data Source
2.1B+ rated games from Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). Game data is owned by Lichess (CC0 license). TrueElo provides the statistical analysis only.
Filtering Criteria
  • White-centric: bucketed by White’s rating bracket
  • Opponent within 200 Elo (rating gap filter)
  • Minimum 2 moves played
  • Rated games only (no casual)
Statistical Method
Bayesian inference with a 3-outcome model (white win / draw / black win). We report 90% credible intervals. More games = tighter intervals = more reliable estimates.
Minimum Sample
Opening pages: n ≥ 100. Gambit breakpoints: n ≥ 50. Complexity/traps: n ≥ 500.

Frequently Asked Questions

What data is this based on?

All statistics are derived from 2.1B rated games from Lichess, covering 131 unique openings across 9 rating brackets and 6 time controls.

How are confidence intervals calculated?

We use Bayesian statistics with a 3-outcome model (white win / draw / black win). Each displayed 90% confidence interval comes from the marginal distribution of that outcome—more games = narrower intervals = more reliable estimates.

Why do win rates differ from other sources?

Our analysis filters for quality: games are bucketed by White’s rating bracket, filtered to opponents within 200 Elo, and include all games with at least 2 moves. This reduces noise from mismatches while including short decisive games like early checkmates and resignations.

How often is this data updated?

Statistics are regenerated periodically from the latest Lichess public database. Check the "Last Updated" date on each page for the data freshness.