13K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 51.6% expected score for White (we're 90% confident it's between 50.9% and 52.3%), based on 13K Lichess games.
Improves with rating: 48% → 50%
Best in Classical (56%), worst in Rapid (47%)
Click any cell to filter. Green = above 50%, Red = below 50%.
| 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
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 48.8% (90% CI: 48.1%-49.5%) win rate for white, based on 13K rated games from Lichess.
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System performs best at 1600-1799 Elo with a 50.6% win rate for white (1.1K games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Bullet (49.3%) outperforms Rapid (46.6%) by 2.7%. Choose your time control wisely.
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a sharpness score of 94.3 (decisive), meaning 94.3% of games end decisively. Average game length is 38 moves.
At 1000-1199 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 51.6% (90% CI: 45.8%-57.4%) win rate for white, based on 201 Lichess games. Average game length is 30 moves with a 2.2% draw rate.
At 1200-1399 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 47.5% (90% CI: 43.7%-51.4%) win rate for white, based on 454 Lichess games. Average game length is 32 moves with a 3.6% draw rate.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 48.9% (90% CI: 46.0%-51.7%) win rate for white, based on 820 Lichess games. Average game length is 35 moves with a 3.8% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 50.6% (90% CI: 48.2%-53.1%) win rate for white, based on 1.1K Lichess games. Average game length is 35 moves with a 4.4% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 48.0% (90% CI: 46.2%-49.8%) win rate for white, based on 2.1K Lichess games. Average game length is 37 moves with a 5.1% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 48.4% (90% CI: 47.0%-49.8%) win rate for white, based on 3.5K Lichess games. Average game length is 39 moves with a 6.2% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 48.4% (90% CI: 47.1%-49.8%) win rate for white, based on 3.9K Lichess games. Average game length is 40 moves with a 6.2% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 50.3% (90% CI: 47.9%-52.7%) win rate for white, based on 1.2K Lichess games. Average game length is 44 moves with a 7.7% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 49.3% (90% CI: 48.1%-50.4%) win rate for white (5.0K Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.6%.
In Blitz games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 48.7% (90% CI: 47.7%-49.6%) win rate for white (7.3K Lichess games). Draw rate is 6.1%.
In Rapid games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System has a 46.6% (90% CI: 44.1%-49.1%) win rate for white (1.1K Lichess games). Draw rate is 8.1%.
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System is statistically balanced with a 48.8% (90% CI: 48.1%-49.5%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 1600-1799 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.