French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit
16K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
Black expected score · All ratings · All speeds
50.6%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 51.2%.
Measured over 16K games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for Black
Draw 3.1 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 16K games
- Rank among the families Black can choose here
- not ranked — this is a variation, not a family
- Games in this context
- 16K
- Best context
- 54.4% at 2000-2199 Bullet
- Worst context
- 47.7% at 1200-1399 Blitz
- Average game length
- 33 moves
- Games that end decisively
- 96.9%
- Draws
- 3.1%
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 falls away as the rating rises: 45.1% at 0-999, 41.3% 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, UltraBullet: 50.0% expected score (4 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 56.2% expected score (113 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 48.6% expected score (180 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 40.8% expected score (31 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 52.0% expected score (278 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 47.4% expected score (494 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 48.5% expected score (101 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (4 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 49.3% expected score (735 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 47.7% expected score (1,249 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 52.6% expected score (192 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (8 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 30.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 52.7% expected score (1,189 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 50.2% expected score (2,005 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 52.5% expected score (303 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 41.4% expected score (16 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 52.4% expected score (1,174 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 50.9% expected score (2,463 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 42.0% expected score (322 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (11 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 70.0% expected score (1 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 53.3% expected score (704 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 49.8% expected score (1,655 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 46.2% expected score (273 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 32.6% expected score (10 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 54.4% expected score (782 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 54.2% expected score (783 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 44.6% expected score (109 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 16.7% expected score (3 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 51.7% expected score (394 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 48.6% expected score (315 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 46.6% expected score (13 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 47.8% expected score (87 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 26.2% expected score (9 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 50.0% expected score (1 games)
Related Openings
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit scores 50.6% for Black — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 50.0% and 51.2% — from 16K 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
- 16K+ 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 French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate?
Playing the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit, Black wins 49.0%, draws 3.1% and loses 47.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.6%. It rests on 16K rated games from Lichess.
At what rating does the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit perform best?
The French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit performs best for Black at 2000-2199, with an Expected Score of 53.6% (1.7K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read.
Is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit better in blitz or rapid?
For Black, the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit scores higher in Blitz: an Expected Score of 50.0% in Blitz (9.2K games) against 47.4% in Rapid (1.3K games).
How sharp is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit?
The French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit has a sharpness score of 96.9 (very decisive), meaning 96.9% of games end decisively. Average game length is 33 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 0-999?
At 0-999, Black wins 49.2%, draws 2.3% and loses 48.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.3%. It rests on 329 Lichess games, which average 27 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 1000-1199?
At 1000-1199, Black wins 47.8%, draws 2.4% and loses 49.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 49.0%. It rests on 877 Lichess games, which average 30 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 1200-1399?
At 1200-1399, Black wins 47.4%, draws 2.5% and loses 50.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 48.7%. It rests on 2.2K Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 1400-1599?
At 1400-1599, Black wins 49.8%, draws 2.7% and loses 47.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.2%. It rests on 3.5K Lichess games, which average 31 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 1600-1799?
At 1600-1799, Black wins 48.9%, draws 3.4% and loses 47.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.6%. It rests on 4.0K Lichess games, which average 33 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 1800-1999?
At 1800-1999, Black wins 48.7%, draws 3.2% and loses 48.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.3%. It rests on 2.6K Lichess games, which average 34 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 2000-2199?
At 2000-2199, Black wins 51.6%, draws 3.8% and loses 44.5%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.6%. It rests on 1.7K Lichess games, which average 34 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate at 2200-2499?
At 2200-2499, Black wins 48.2%, draws 4.1% and loses 47.8%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.2%. It rests on 722 Lichess games, which average 35 moves.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate in Bullet?
In Bullet, Black wins 51.4%, draws 2.0% and loses 46.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 52.4%. It rests on 5.5K Lichess games.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate in Blitz?
In Blitz, Black wins 48.3%, draws 3.5% and loses 48.3%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.0%. It rests on 9.2K Lichess games.
What is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit win rate in Rapid?
In Rapid, Black wins 44.9%, draws 5.0% and loses 50.1%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 47.4%. It rests on 1.3K Lichess games.
Is the French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit a good opening?
The French Defense: St. George Defense, Sanky-George Gambit is about level. Across all ratings, Black wins 49.0% of its games and loses 47.9%. It performs best at 2000-2199. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.