Skip to content
TrueEloPlay what wins.
Score a position

King's Knight Opening

3 variations · 7.8M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
2.Nf3
Analyze this line move by move

White expected score · Overall

53.1%

45%60%
Floor53.1%

the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.

Measured over 7.8M games at this level and clock.

Play Thiswins clearly more often than it loses at this level

A strong opening choice for White at this level and clock.

Outcomes for White

Draw 4.1 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 7.8M games

Rank among the families White can choose here
#12 of 56
Games in this context
7.8M
Best context
56.6% at 1000-1199 UltraBullet
Worst context
51.3% at 0-999 UltraBullet
Variations measured
3
Average game length
31 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 · Overall
#1King's Knight OpeningBest here
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
Floor 61.8% · 2.9M games
61.8%
#2King's Knight Opening: Konstantinopolsky
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3
Floor 49.4% · 633K games
49.5%

These 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 falls away as the rating rises: 53.5% at 0-999, 47.8% at 2500+.

RatingUBBulleBlitzRapidClass
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: 51.3% expected score (2,612 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Bullet: 54.4% expected score (247,736 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Blitz: 53.2% expected score (687,982 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Rapid: 54.7% expected score (514,721 games)
  • 0-999 rating, Classical: 53.9% expected score (6,404 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 56.6% expected score (4,892 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 53.9% expected score (278,129 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 53.3% expected score (734,843 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 53.9% expected score (453,158 games)
  • 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 56.3% expected score (17,158 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 56.0% expected score (5,933 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 53.4% expected score (299,995 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 52.9% expected score (792,707 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 53.2% expected score (475,041 games)
  • 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 56.2% expected score (27,281 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 54.7% expected score (4,493 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 52.8% expected score (291,989 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 52.4% expected score (742,771 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 52.1% expected score (416,914 games)
  • 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 54.8% expected score (38,358 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 56.5% expected score (2,172 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 52.9% expected score (232,539 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 52.3% expected score (528,796 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 52.4% expected score (267,075 games)
  • 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 56.0% expected score (16,713 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 53.6% expected score (1,208 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 52.3% expected score (153,560 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 51.8% expected score (243,811 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 52.4% expected score (107,995 games)
  • 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 54.1% expected score (3,505 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 62.4% expected score (436 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 51.8% expected score (77,674 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 52.0% expected score (69,739 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 54.0% expected score (19,130 games)
  • 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 55.7% expected score (511 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 48.3% expected score (145 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 51.6% expected score (35,773 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 53.0% expected score (14,869 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 56.0% expected score (2,070 games)
  • 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 61.9% expected score (83 games)
  • 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 27.0% expected score (5 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Bullet: 54.3% expected score (6,113 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Blitz: 56.5% expected score (2,050 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Rapid: 61.6% expected score (98 games)
  • 2500+ rating, Classical: 39.7% expected score (13 games)

3 variations · ranked by floor

Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.

1
King's Knight Opening2.9M games
61.8%Floor 61.8%
2
King's Knight Opening: Konstantinopolsky633K games
49.5%Floor 49.4%
3
King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation4.3M games
47.9%Floor 47.8%
Analyze King's Knight Opening PositionsSee what each move is worth at your rating, move by move

Methodology

Across every rating and clock, the King's Knight Opening family scores 53.1% for White — we are 90% confident it is 53.1% — from 7.8M Lichess games across 3 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
7.8M+ 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 King's Knight Opening win rate?

Across the King's Knight Opening's 3 variations, White wins 51.0%, draws 4.1% and loses 44.9%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 53.1%. It rests on 7.8M rated games from Lichess.

How many King's Knight Opening variations are there?

3 King's Knight Opening variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.

At what rating does the King's Knight Opening perform best?

The King's Knight Opening family performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 54.9% (8.3K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.

Is the King's Knight Opening better in blitz or rapid?

For White, the King's Knight Opening scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 52.8% in Blitz (3.8M games) against 53.4% in Rapid (2.3M games).

How sharp is the King's Knight Opening?

King's Knight Opening games are 95.9% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 31 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.

Is the King's Knight Opening a good opening family?

The King's Knight Opening family is good for White overall. Across its games, White wins 51.0% and loses 44.9%. Results differ between its 3 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.