1.5K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a 50.3% expected score for Black (we're 90% confident it's between 48.2% and 52.5%), based on 1.5K Lichess games.
Improves with rating: 20% → 43%
Best in Blitz (46%), worst in Classical (23%)
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: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a 44.2% (90% CI: 42.1%-46.4%) win rate for white, based on 1.5K rated games from Lichess.
The English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation performs best at 2200-2499 Elo with a 44.5% win rate for white (892 games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Bullet (46.5%) outperforms Blitz (42.7%) by 3.8%. Choose your time control wisely.
The English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a sharpness score of 89.1 (moderately decisive), meaning 89.1% of games end decisively. Average game length is 42 moves.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a 42.4% (90% CI: 36.3%-48.6%) win rate for white, based on 172 Lichess games. Average game length is 37 moves with a 4.9% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a 44.5% (90% CI: 41.8%-47.2%) win rate for white, based on 892 Lichess games. Average game length is 41 moves with a 11.4% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a 43.8% (90% CI: 39.8%-47.8%) win rate for white, based on 415 Lichess games. Average game length is 46 moves with a 12.8% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a 46.5% (90% CI: 42.5%-50.6%) win rate for white (408 Lichess games). Draw rate is 9.2%.
In Blitz games, the English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation has a 42.7% (90% CI: 40.2%-45.2%) win rate for white (1.1K Lichess games). Draw rate is 11.7%.
The English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation is slightly favors black with a 44.2% (90% CI: 42.1%-46.4%) 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.