Which openings change most with the clock?

These lines swing most between clocks, in percentage points.

every level, for White

Your levelnot setDrag to yours ↔

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Best clock

Which openings swing most between clocks?

Opening	Best clock	Worst clock	Swing
1Irish Gambit Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet−2.4%4.7K games	Classical−63.6%1.8K games	61.2 pts
2Owen Defense: Matovinsky Gambit Best Rapid · Worst Blitz	Rapid+60.6%1.4K games	Blitz+14.8%8.5K games	45.8 pts
3Center Game Accepted Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet+4.8%9.9K games	Classical−39.7%4.3K games	44.5 pts
4Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch Defense, Endgame Variation Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz+2.3%2.6K games	Bullet−1.5%1.9K games	3.8 pts
5Ware Opening: Meadow Hay Trap Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet−1.4%1.7K games	Classical−62.5%728 games	61.1 pts
6Kádas Opening: Beginner's Trap Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet−14.3%1.0K games	Classical−70.2%508 games	55.9 pts
7Ruy Lopez: Spanish Countergambit, Harding Gambit Best Rapid · Worst Bullet	Rapid+7.4%539 games	Bullet−40.0%375 games	47.4 pts
8Ware Defense: Snagglepuss Defense Best Classical · Worst Bullet	Classical+53.7%406 games	Bullet+8.7%6.0K games	45.0 pts
9King's Pawn Game: Schulze-Müller Gambit Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet+3.5%1.9K games	Classical−40.8%912 games	44.3 pts
10King's Gambit Accepted: Gaga Gambit Best Bullet · Worst Classical	Bullet−20.8%7.2K games	Classical−64.9%507 games	44.1 pts
11Queen's Pawn Game: Zurich Gambit Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet−11.5%730 games	Classical−54.1%1.1K games	42.6 pts
12King's Gambit Accepted Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet−3.4%635 games	Classical−45.1%1.3K games	41.7 pts
13Bishop's Opening: Warsaw Gambit Best UltraBullet · Worst Classical	UltraBullet+20.8%430 games	Classical−20.8%479 games	41.6 pts
14Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense, Möhring Variation Best Rapid · Worst Bullet	Rapid+12.8%219 games	Bullet−26.1%1.3K games	38.9 pts
15Portuguese Opening: Portuguese Gambit Best Blitz · Worst Classical	Blitz−11.1%4.2K games	Classical−49.7%202 games	38.6 pts
16Ruy Lopez: Halloween Attack Best Bullet · Worst Classical	Bullet−17.1%7.4K games	Classical−47.6%224 games	30.5 pts
17Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Gligoric System, Exchange Variation Best Bullet · Worst Classical	Bullet−1.8%7.6K games	Classical−19.9%248 games	18.1 pts
18Nimzo-Indian Defense: Dilworth Gambit Best Bullet · Worst UltraBullet	Bullet+0.6%78K games	UltraBullet−14.4%931 games	15.0 pts
19Ruy Lopez: Marshall Attack, Main Line, Spassky Variation Best Bullet · Worst Blitz	Bullet−7.9%493 games	Blitz−15.4%404 games	7.5 pts
20Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Tartakower Attack Best Blitz · Worst Classical	Blitz+5.2%22K games	Classical−0.4%656 games	5.6 pts

A clock counts once 200 games sit behind it; under 1.0K games, a line’s swing is faint and it follows the rest.

Edge at worst is how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident; swing is its move from best clock to worst.

Which openings hold on every clock?

Opening	Best clock	Worst clock	Swing
1English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Flohr-Mikenas-Carls Variation, Nei Gambit Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz+5.0%31K games	Bullet+3.3%23K games	1.7 pts
2King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Yugoslav Variation, Advance Line Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz−1.0%42K games	Bullet−3.1%42K games	2.1 pts
3Old Indian Defense: Janowski Variation, Fianchetto Variation Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz+5.4%5.0K games	Bullet+3.0%1.8K games	2.4 pts
4Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Prins Variation Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz−1.0%3.8K games	Bullet−3.7%1.0K games	2.7 pts
5Caro-Kann Defense: Advance Variation, Van der Wiel Attack, Dreyev Defense Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz−3.6%7.7K games	Bullet−6.4%3.0K games	2.8 pts
6Grünfeld Defense: Russian Variation, Szabo Variation Best Rapid · Worst Bullet	Rapid+6.9%1.0K games	Bullet+2.2%3.2K games	4.7 pts
7Scotch Game: Sea-Cadet Mate Best Blitz · Worst Rapid	Blitz+99.5%1.2K games	Rapid+98.7%391 games	0.8 pts
8English Defense: Hartlaub Gambit Accepted Best Bullet · Worst Blitz	Bullet−5.1%436 games	Blitz−6.2%273 games	1.1 pts
9Caro-Kann Defense: Mieses Attack, Landau Gambit Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz+75.8%1.6K games	Bullet+74.1%856 games	1.7 pts
10Amsterdam Attack Best Blitz · Worst Rapid	Blitz+1.0%2.5K games	Rapid−1.1%569 games	2.1 pts
11Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack, Main Line Best Blitz · Worst Classical	Blitz+19.0%92K games	Classical+15.6%784 games	3.4 pts
12English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz−5.8%1.6K games	Bullet−9.2%597 games	3.4 pts
13Grünfeld Defense: Exchange Variation, Simagin's Lesser Variation Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz−5.8%1.1K games	Bullet−9.3%891 games	3.5 pts
14Alekhine Defense: Modern Variation, Vitolins Attack Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz+7.9%790 games	Bullet+3.6%397 games	4.3 pts
15Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Pincus Variation Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz+19.8%1.9K games	Bullet+15.4%472 games	4.4 pts
16English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Napolitano Gambit Best Blitz · Worst Bullet	Blitz−12.5%1.0K games	Bullet−19.3%459 games	6.8 pts

The lines whose edge at worst moves least between their best clock and their worst.

Score a position at your level and clockLoad any opening and see what each move scores at your level

Methodology

Irish Gambit has the largest clock swing among the ranked lines for White: 61.2 points. Scope: every level, for White. Sample: 4,686 games in UltraBullet, 1,809 in Classical. Rated Lichess games played September 2023 to August 2026. TrueElo analysis of Lichess data. Edge at worst runs from −63.6 to −2.4 points.

When citing manually, include the source URL and your access date.

https://trueelo.app/stats/time-controls

How the figures are made

How to read this page: Edge at worst is how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident, so above zero, the opening wins more than it loses even on a bad day.
Whose games these are: 3B+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-09 to 2026-08). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt September 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.
What the Floor and Edge at worst are: The Floor is the worst score you would still get, 90% confident: the low end of a figure’s range, not its average. Edge at worst is how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident, so above zero, that side wins more than it loses even on a bad day. Each is stated for the rating and clock shown, over the games that reached the position. They are on different scales: a score sits at 50 when the sides are level, an edge at zero.
How much we need before we say anything: An opening page needs 100 games. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do chess openings perform differently by time control?

Yes. Across 3B+ rated Lichess games, Irish Gambit swings the most, for White: its Edge at worst is −2.4% in UltraBullet and −63.6% in Classical, 61.2 percentage points apart.

Which openings should I avoid in bullet chess?

The ones where Bullet is the worst clock for the side you play. Set You play to your side, then look for Bullet in the Worst TC column; Swing shows how far the Edge at worst drops there from the opening's best clock.

What are the best openings for blitz chess?

Set "Best in" to Blitz above, and the tables keep only the openings whose Edge at worst, for the side you play, is highest in Blitz.

Should I use different openings for different time controls?

For some openings it pays. With You play set to Both and Rating set to All, the 20 Most Affected rows swing 50.1 percentage points on average in Edge at worst between their best and worst clock. Check an opening's best clock for your side before taking it to another.

Which openings perform consistently across all time controls?

Scotch Game: Sea-Cadet Mate, for Black, is the most consistent: its Edge at worst does not move across the clocks with enough games to rank, against an average of 2.0 percentage points across the 20 Most Consistent rows, with You play set to Both and Rating set to All. Consistent is not the same as good, because a line can lose just as badly on every clock, so check its Edge at worst before building one repertoire on it.

Do gambits work better in bullet chess?

It depends on the gambit. Each gambit's own page breaks its results down by clock, so check whether Bullet is where yours pays.

How much do opening results change between time controls?

In Irish Gambit, for White, the Edge at worst swings 61.2 percentage points between its best and worst clock, the most of any opening here. With You play set to Both and Rating set to All, the 20 Most Affected rows average 50.1.