English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit
15K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
50.2%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 50.9%.
Measured over 15K games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 5.1 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 15K games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 15K
- Best context
- 56.9% at 2200-2499 Bullet
- Worst context
- 46.1% at 2500+ Blitz
- Average game length
- 35 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 94.9%
- Draws
- 5.1%
Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.
Extra Analysis
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Where it holds · Black score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for Black, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It gets better as the rating rises: 43.0% at 0-999, 54.0% at 2500+.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | |||
| 1000-1199 | — | — | |||
| 1200-1399 | — | ||||
| 1400-1599 | — | ||||
| 1600-1799 | — | ||||
| 1800-1999 | |||||
| 2000-2199 | |||||
| 2200-2499 | |||||
| 2500+ | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 54.8% expected score (9 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 24.2% expected score (14 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (3 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 54.1% expected score (23 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 52.7% expected score (36 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 56.1% expected score (15 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 40.4% expected score (40 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 44.5% expected score (97 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 40.6% expected score (25 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 37.0% expected score (102 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 44.8% expected score (254 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 43.7% expected score (54 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 45.0% expected score (176 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 48.6% expected score (477 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 42.7% expected score (149 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 69.0% expected score (17 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 53.2% expected score (299 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 49.6% expected score (1,034 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 40.5% expected score (246 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 35.2% expected score (29 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 52.0% expected score (683 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 51.9% expected score (2,270 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 54.7% expected score (351 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 74.4% expected score (17 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 56.9% expected score (1,457 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 49.3% expected score (4,159 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 51.5% expected score (344 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 45.3% expected score (9 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 50.5% expected score (1,190 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 46.1% expected score (992 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 54.9% expected score (19 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 64.3% expected score (2 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit scores 50.2% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 49.6% and 50.9% — from 15K Lichess games. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
How the figures are made
- Whose games these are
- 15K+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
- Which games we count
- Rated games only — nothing casual.
- Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
- At least 2 moves played.
- A game is filed under White’s rating.
- Why every number comes with a range
- A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
- How much we need before we say anything
- An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate?
Playing the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit, Black wins 47.7%, draws 5.1% and loses 47.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.2%. It rests on 15K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit perform best?
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit performs best for Black at 2000-2199, with an Expected Score of 52.3% (3.3K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 49.4% in Blitz (9.3K games) against 48.6% in Rapid (1.2K games).
How sharp is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit?
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit has a sharpness score of 94.9 (decisive), meaning 94.9% of games end decisively. Average game length is 35 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, Black wins 42.9%, draws 0.3% and loses 56.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 43.1%. It rests on 163 Lichess games, which average 29 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, Black wins 41.0%, draws 3.3% and loses 55.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 42.7%. It rests on 412 Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 45.8%, draws 2.7% and loses 51.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.2%. It rests on 819 Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, Black wins 46.8%, draws 3.6% and loses 49.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.6%. It rests on 1.6K Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, Black wins 50.2%, draws 4.3% and loses 45.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.3%. It rests on 3.3K Lichess games, which average 33 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, Black wins 48.2%, draws 6.1% and loses 45.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.3%. It rests on 6.0K Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, Black wins 45.4%, draws 6.2% and loses 48.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.5%. It rests on 2.2K Lichess games, which average 40 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 50.6%, draws 4.0% and loses 45.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.6%. It rests on 4.0K Lichess games.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 46.6%, draws 5.6% and loses 47.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.4%. It rests on 9.3K Lichess games.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 46.3%, draws 4.7% and loses 49.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.6%. It rests on 1.2K Lichess games.
Is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit a good opening?
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Adhiban Gambit is about level. Across all ratings, Black wins 47.7% of its games and loses 47.3%. It performs best at 2000-2199. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.