English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Closed Sicilian (2. Nc3 Nc6)
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Closed Sicilian is a chess opening classified as ECO A25, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6. It is a line of the English Opening. White is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 12,900 times by this move order. White won 52%, 5% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3. g3 (40% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.21 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3. g3 g6 4. d3 d6 5. Bg2 Bg7)
- ECO
- A25
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pppp1ppp/2n5/4p3/2P5/2N5/PP1PPPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4,128 | |
| 1500-1999 | 6,000 | |
| 2000+ | 2,772 | |
| All | 12,900 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. g3 | 5,115 (40%) | |
| 3. Nf3 King's English Variation, Three Knights System | 3,103 (24%) | |
| 3. e3 | 1,608 (12%) | |
| 3. e4 | 1,425 (11%) | |
| 3. d3 | 1,072 (8%) | |
| 3. a3 | 255 (2%) | |
| 3. b3 | 120 (1%) | |
| 3. f4 | 29 (0%) |
Master games
3,166 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 18%, Black 38%). The strongest:
- AllieStein v0.5_timefix-n14.0 (3936) – Ethereal 12.01 (3810) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-30
- Ethereal 12.01 (3810) – AllieStein v0.5_timefix-n14.0 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-26
- ScorpioNN 3.0.8.3 (3448) – LCZero v0.26.2-rc1_J92-100 (3543) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-16
- LCZero v0.26.2-rc1_J92-100 (3543) – ScorpioNN 3.0.8.3 (3448) 1-0 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-13
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2754) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2857) 0-1 · chess.com SF Blitz 1m+1spm 2016 · 2016-08-23
Highest-rated Lichess games
- IM Kostik_Mostik (2914) – canc3111 (2761) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM Kostik_Mostik (2920) – canc3111 (2754) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- IM Kostik_Mostik (2907) – canc3111 (2768) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Sicilian 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3
Continuations
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Three Knights System A27 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Taimanov Variation A25 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Troger Defense A21 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 d6 4. Bg2 Be6
- English Opening: Closed, Taimanov Variation (5. Bg2 Bg7) A25 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Rb1 Nh6 5. Bg2 Bg7
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.