Global Opening
1 variations · 107K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · Overall
50.7%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. At best 50.9%.
Measured over 107K games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for White
Draw 3.4 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 107K games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- #40 of 56
- Games in this context
- 107K
- Best context
- 52.7% at 1800-1999 Rapid
- Worst context
- 46.7% at 0-999 Rapid
- Variations measured
- 1
- Average game length
- 34 moves
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.
What to play from here
White · OverallThese are the moves players actually choose from here, ranked by how they score. A higher score is a better bet on the numbers alone — familiarity and playstyle still matter.
Where it holds · White score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for White, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It gets better as the rating rises: 43.9% at 0-999, 65.9% 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: 37.2% expected score (53 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 47.9% expected score (3,539 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 49.4% expected score (6,921 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 46.7% expected score (2,601 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 38.4% expected score (33 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 49.4% expected score (80 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 49.9% expected score (4,549 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 51.5% expected score (10,492 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 51.7% expected score (3,803 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 31.8% expected score (56 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 39.6% expected score (99 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 50.4% expected score (5,280 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 50.6% expected score (13,067 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 51.6% expected score (5,132 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 49.3% expected score (413 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 41.4% expected score (114 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 52.1% expected score (7,824 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 51.3% expected score (12,802 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 49.2% expected score (4,783 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 44.3% expected score (236 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 53.2% expected score (30 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 51.3% expected score (6,133 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 50.7% expected score (5,120 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 51.2% expected score (2,547 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 47.9% expected score (136 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 76.3% expected score (8 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 51.1% expected score (3,226 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 50.4% expected score (1,266 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 52.7% expected score (2,090 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 70.4% expected score (28 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 42.4% expected score (5 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 51.6% expected score (1,665 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 52.2% expected score (1,003 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 50.2% expected score (220 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 78.6% expected score (2 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 60.6% expected score (8 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 50.2% expected score (697 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 49.9% expected score (567 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 55.3% expected score (27 games)
- 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 78.6% expected score (2 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 49.4% expected score (366 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 69.6% expected score (47 games)
1 variations · ranked by floor
Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Global Opening family scores 50.7% for White — we are 90% confident the real figure is between 50.4% and 50.9% — from 107K Lichess games across 1 variations. 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
- 107K+ 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 Global Opening win rate?
Across the Global Opening's 1 variations, White wins 49.0%, draws 3.4% and loses 47.6%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.7%. It rests on 107K rated games from Lichess.
How many Global Opening variations are there?
1 Global Opening variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.
At what rating does the Global Opening perform best?
The Global Opening family performs best for White at 1800-1999, with an Expected Score of 51.6% (6.6K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.
Is the Global Opening better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Global Opening scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 50.9% in Blitz (51K games) against 50.5% in Rapid (21K games).
How sharp is the Global Opening?
Global Opening games are 96.6% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 34 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.
Is the Global Opening a good opening family?
The Global Opening family is about level overall. Across its games, White wins 49.0% and loses 47.6%. Results differ between its 1 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.