3.2M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 42.3% expected score for Black (we're 90% confident it's between 42.3% and 42.4%), based on 3.2M Lichess games.
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Stable across ratings (~42%)
Best in UltraBullet (46%), worst in Classical (35%)
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 King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 55.8% (90% CI: 55.7%-55.8%) win rate for white, based on 3.2M rated games from Lichess.
The King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense performs best at 1400-1599 Elo with a 57.7% win rate for white (405K games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Classical (61.0%) outperforms UltraBullet (52.7%) by 8.3%. Choose your time control wisely.
The King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a sharpness score of 96.1 (very decisive), meaning 96.1% of games end decisively. Average game length is 31 moves.
At 0-999 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 53.4% (90% CI: 53.3%-53.5%) win rate for white, based on 843K Lichess games. Average game length is 29 moves with a 4.4% draw rate.
At 1000-1199 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 56.2% (90% CI: 56.1%-56.3%) win rate for white, based on 902K Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 3.8% draw rate.
At 1200-1399 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 56.8% (90% CI: 56.7%-56.9%) win rate for white, based on 718K Lichess games. Average game length is 32 moves with a 3.6% draw rate.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 57.7% (90% CI: 57.5%-57.8%) win rate for white, based on 405K Lichess games. Average game length is 33 moves with a 3.5% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 56.6% (90% CI: 56.4%-56.8%) win rate for white, based on 193K Lichess games. Average game length is 34 moves with a 3.5% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 55.7% (90% CI: 55.4%-55.9%) win rate for white, based on 89K Lichess games. Average game length is 34 moves with a 3.5% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 55.3% (90% CI: 54.8%-55.8%) win rate for white, based on 27K Lichess games. Average game length is 34 moves with a 3.8% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 53.9% (90% CI: 53.0%-54.9%) win rate for white, based on 7.9K Lichess games. Average game length is 35 moves with a 4.1% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 52.6% (90% CI: 50.7%-54.4%) win rate for white, based on 2.0K Lichess games. Average game length is 36 moves with a 5.0% draw rate.
In UltraBullet games, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 52.7% (90% CI: 51.7%-53.8%) win rate for white (6.0K Lichess games). Draw rate is 1.3%.
In Bullet games, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 54.8% (90% CI: 54.7%-54.9%) win rate for white (595K Lichess games). Draw rate is 2.1%.
In Blitz games, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 55.3% (90% CI: 55.2%-55.3%) win rate for white (1.6M Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.1%.
In Rapid games, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 57.0% (90% CI: 56.9%-57.1%) win rate for white (927K Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.6%.
In Classical games, the King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense has a 61.0% (90% CI: 60.6%-61.4%) win rate for white (44K Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.5%.
The King's Pawn Game: Damiano Defense is statistically favors white with a 55.8% (90% CI: 55.7%-55.8%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 1400-1599 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.