2.1M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 47.3% expected score for Black (we're 90% confident it's between 47.2% and 47.3%), based on 2.1M Lichess games.
Declines with rating: 49% → 39%
Similar across time controls (~46%)
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, Two Knights Variation has a 50.7% (90% CI: 50.7%-50.8%) win rate for white, based on 2.1M rated games from Lichess.
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation performs best at 2200-2499 Elo with a 51.5% win rate for white (92K games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Bullet (51.9%) outperforms Classical (48.5%) by 3.4%. Choose your time control wisely.
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a sharpness score of 96.0 (very decisive), meaning 96.0% of games end decisively. Average game length is 34 moves.
At 0-999 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 47.6% (90% CI: 47.3%-48.0%) win rate for white, based on 54K Lichess games. Average game length is 27 moves with a 3.0% draw rate.
At 1000-1199 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 49.8% (90% CI: 49.5%-50.0%) win rate for white, based on 132K Lichess games. Average game length is 29 moves with a 3.0% draw rate.
At 1200-1399 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 50.5% (90% CI: 50.3%-50.6%) win rate for white, based on 248K Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 3.2% draw rate.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 50.8% (90% CI: 50.7%-50.9%) win rate for white, based on 398K Lichess games. Average game length is 33 moves with a 3.4% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 50.9% (90% CI: 50.8%-51.1%) win rate for white, based on 497K Lichess games. Average game length is 35 moves with a 3.9% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 51.0% (90% CI: 50.9%-51.1%) win rate for white, based on 443K Lichess games. Average game length is 36 moves with a 4.5% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 51.3% (90% CI: 51.1%-51.4%) win rate for white, based on 235K Lichess games. Average game length is 37 moves with a 5.0% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 51.5% (90% CI: 51.2%-51.8%) win rate for white, based on 92K Lichess games. Average game length is 38 moves with a 5.4% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 46.3% (90% CI: 45.6%-47.0%) win rate for white, based on 13K Lichess games. Average game length is 42 moves with a 14.4% draw rate.
In UltraBullet games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 53.2% (90% CI: 51.6%-54.8%) win rate for white (2.8K Lichess games). Draw rate is 1.2%.
In Bullet games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 51.9% (90% CI: 51.8%-52.0%) win rate for white (603K Lichess games). Draw rate is 2.9%.
In Blitz games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 50.6% (90% CI: 50.5%-50.7%) win rate for white (1.1M Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.3%.
In Rapid games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 49.2% (90% CI: 49.1%-49.4%) win rate for white (348K Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.9%.
In Classical games, the English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation has a 48.5% (90% CI: 47.8%-49.1%) win rate for white (16K Lichess games). Draw rate is 5.9%.
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation is statistically favors white with a 50.7% (90% CI: 50.7%-50.8%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 2200-2499 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.