English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4
The English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch is a chess opening classified as ECO A22, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4. It is a line of the English Opening. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 64 times by this move order. White won 48%, 8% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 3… exf4 (55% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.26 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 3… exf4 4. d4 Bb4 5. Bxf4 O-O 6. e3)
- ECO
- A22
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/2P2P2/2N5/PP1PP1PP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 10 | |
| 1500-1999 | 32 | |
| 2000+ | 22 | |
| All | 64 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… exf4 | 35 (55%) | |
| 3… e4 | 12 (19%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 8 (13%) | |
| 3… d6 | 5 (8%) | |
| 3… Bc5 | 2 (3%) | |
| 3… Bb4 | 2 (3%) |
Master games
16 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 19%, draw 18%, Black 63%). The strongest:
- GM Pavel Ponkratov (2627) – GM Vladimir Zakhartsov (2506) 1-0 · Sea Harbor Blitz 2021 · 2021-06-13
- Patrick Lacey (2184) – GM Sergei Zhigalko (2572) 0-1 · Titled Tue 14th May Early · 2024-05-14
- GM Vignir Vatnar Stefansson (2509) – FM Bardur Orn Birkisson (2232) 1/2-1/2 · Reykjavik CC Autumn 2025 · 2025-09-21
- FM Erik Ronka (2284) – IM Pekka Koykka (2325) 1/2-1/2 · ch-FIN 2026 · 2026-04-08
- Benjamin Nachbar (2124) – IM Stefan Docx (2420) 0-1 · 20th HZ Open 2016 · 2016-08-07
Search all games of the English Opening: King's English, Mazedonisch and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Misha-she (2360) – ptakh (2579) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- classicoloco404 (2423) – NM TioCridineno (2460) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Misha-she (2352) – Plyasa1984 (2526) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6
More English Opening lines (all)
- English Opening A10
- English Opening: Achilles-Omega Gambit A10
- English Opening: Adorjan Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense, Hickmann Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Chabanon Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Variation, Ferenc Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Lithuanian Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Löhn Gambit A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Malvinas Variation A10
- English Opening: Anglo-Scandinavian Defense, Schulz Gambit A10
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.