English Opening: King's English Variation, Taimanov Variation
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Taimanov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A25, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7. 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 270 times by this move order. White won 48%, 9% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 5. e3 (43% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.19 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 5. d3 d6 6. e3 a5 7. a3 Nf6)
- ECO
- A25
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/pppp1pbp/2n3p1/4p3/2P5/2N3P1/PP1PPPBP/R1BQK1NR w KQkq - 2 5- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 22 | |
| 1500-1999 | 80 | |
| 2000+ | 168 | |
| All | 270 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. e3 | 116 (43%) | |
| 5. Nf3 | 51 (19%) | |
| 5. e4 | 49 (18%) | |
| 5. d3 King's English Variation, Closed System | 46 (17%) | |
| 5. b3 | 4 (1%) | |
| 5. Rb1 King's English Variation, Hungarian Attack | 2 (1%) | |
| 5. h4 | 1 (0%) | |
| 5. a3 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
740 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 35%, draw 25%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Gukesh D (2776) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2771) 1-0 · Saint Louis Blitz 2025 · 2025-08-15
- GM Hikaru Nakamura (2749) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2731) 1-0 · Champions Showdown Blitz · 2019-02-23
- GM Alexander Grischuk (2792) – GM Zaven Andriasian (2611) 0-1 · FIDE World Blitz 2014 · 2014-06-19
- GM Hao Wang (2720) – GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (2678) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-CHN 2019 · 2019-08-21
- GM Romain Edouard (2664) – GM Etienne Bacrot (2705) 0-1 · 4th Grand Prix FFE 2012 · 2012-10-07
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 Closed Sicilian (2. Nc3 Nc6) 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6
Continuations
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Closed System A25 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Hungarian Attack A25 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Rb1
- English Opening: Closed, Taimanov Variation (6. Nge2 Nh6) A25 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e3 d6 6. Nge2 Nh6
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Bremen-Hort Variation A25 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e3 d6 6. Nge2 Be6
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.