English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6
60K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
48.5%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 48.8%.
Measured over 60K games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 8.4 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 60K games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 60K
- Best context
- 56.6% at 1800-1999 Rapid
- Worst context
- 43.6% at 2500+ Blitz
- Average game length
- 39 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 91.6%
- Draws
- 8.4%
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 holds about the same all the way up, near 45.6%.
| 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: 50.0% expected score (2 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 36.7% expected score (6 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (4 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 50.0% expected score (21 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 50.0% expected score (24 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 54.0% expected score (11 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 49.3% expected score (64 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 58.8% expected score (101 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (27 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 52.2% expected score (160 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 46.9% expected score (321 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 57.2% expected score (117 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 77.6% expected score (13 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 51.7% expected score (478 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 50.9% expected score (1,240 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 53.2% expected score (345 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 61.0% expected score (53 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 49.7% expected score (1,234 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 49.8% expected score (4,985 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 56.6% expected score (908 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 67.3% expected score (152 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 51.4% expected score (3,198 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 49.5% expected score (12,789 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 51.4% expected score (1,891 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 58.5% expected score (117 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 48.8% expected score (5,701 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 46.7% expected score (16,772 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 47.4% expected score (1,755 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 46.0% expected score (61 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 45.8% expected score (4,388 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 43.6% expected score (2,856 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 45.4% expected score (238 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 46.0% expected score (36 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 scores 48.5% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 48.2% and 48.8% — from 60K 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
- 60K+ 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, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate?
Playing the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6, Black wins 44.3%, draws 8.4% and loses 47.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.5%. It rests on 60K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 perform best?
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 performs best for Black at 1800-1999, with an Expected Score of 51.0% (7.3K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 scores higher in Rapid: an Expected Score of 48.0% in Blitz (39K games) against 50.9% in Rapid (5.3K games).
How sharp is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6?
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 has a sharpness score of 91.6 (decisive), meaning 91.6% of games end decisively. Average game length is 39 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, Black wins 53.2%, draws 2.3% and loses 44.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 54.4%. It rests on 193 Lichess games, which average 29 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, Black wins 49.3%, draws 3.5% and loses 47.2%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.1%. It rests on 612 Lichess games, which average 32 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 49.2%, draws 4.9% and loses 45.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.7%. It rests on 2.1K Lichess games, which average 34 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, Black wins 47.9%, draws 6.1% and loses 46.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.0%. It rests on 7.3K Lichess games, which average 36 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, Black wins 46.8%, draws 6.5% and loses 46.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.1%. It rests on 18K Lichess games, which average 38 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, Black wins 43.2%, draws 8.0% and loses 48.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.2%. It rests on 24K Lichess games, which average 40 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate at 2500+?
At 2500+, Black wins 35.9%, draws 18.1% and loses 46.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 45.0%. It rests on 7.5K Lichess games, which average 46 moves.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 44.9%, draws 7.6% and loses 47.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.7%. It rests on 15K Lichess games.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 43.8%, draws 8.3% and loses 47.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.0%. It rests on 39K Lichess games.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 45.5%, draws 10.8% and loses 43.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.9%. It rests on 5.3K Lichess games.
What is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 win rate in Classical?
In Classical, Black wins 50.3%, draws 19.0% and loses 30.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 59.8%. It rests on 433 Lichess games.
Is the English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 a good opening?
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, with Nb6 is about level. Across all ratings, Black wins 44.3% of its games and loses 47.3%. It performs best at 1800-1999. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.