English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation
1. c4 e5 2. Nf3
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A20, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nf3. It is a line of the English Opening. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,608 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nc6 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 43; best line 2… e4 3. Nd4 Nc6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nc3)
- ECO
- A20
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/2P5/5N2/PP1PPPPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,030 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,019 | |
| 2000+ | 559 | |
| All | 2,608 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nc6 | 1,299 (50%) | |
| 2… d6 | 454 (17%) | |
| 2… e4 King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch-Flohr Variation | 395 (15%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 136 (5%) | |
| 2… Bc5 | 124 (5%) | |
| 2… Qf6 | 49 (2%) | |
| 2… f6 | 37 (1%) | |
| 2… d5 | 18 (1%) |
Master games
623 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 53%, draw 17%, Black 30%). The strongest:
- GM Vincent Keymer (2776) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2810) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Feb 2026 · 2026-02-10
- GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2645) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2872) 1/2-1/2 · World Rapid 2019 · 2019-12-27
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2746) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2767) 0-1 · FIDE World Bl Team Pool C · 2025-06-14
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2712) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2771) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-14
- GM David Navara (2719) – GM Anish Giri (2764) 1/2-1/2 · MrDodgy Invitational 2020 · 2020-06-14
Highest-rated Lichess games
- lestri (2644) – Lifvix01 (2806) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- gelyaromanova (2739) – NM MMM_Zhukovskiy (2688) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- notkevich (2722) – Xavijhz29 (2654) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: King's English Variation (1. c4 e5) 1. c4 e5
Continuations
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch-Flohr Variation A20 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nf3 e4
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.