English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Smyslov System
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4
The English Opening: King's English Variation, Two Knights Variation, Smyslov System is a chess opening classified as ECO A22, reached after 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4. It is a line of the English Opening. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1,646 times by this move order. White won 50%, 3% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 4. Bg2 (73% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4. e4 O-O 5. Bg2 Bxc3 6. bxc3 c6)
- ECO
- A22
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pppp1ppp/5n2/4p3/1bP5/2N3P1/PP1PPP1P/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 439 | |
| 1500-1999 | 929 | |
| 2000+ | 278 | |
| All | 1,646 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Bg2 | 1,199 (73%) | |
| 4. Nd5 | 145 (9%) | |
| 4. Qc2 | 78 (5%) | |
| 4. Qb3 | 69 (4%) | |
| 4. a3 | 37 (2%) | |
| 4. e3 | 34 (2%) | |
| 4. e4 | 30 (2%) | |
| 4. d3 | 23 (1%) |
Master games
1,047 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 33%, draw 20%, Black 47%). The strongest:
- Berserk 20230311 (3476) – KomodoDragon 3.2 (3569) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 24 Premier 2023 · 2023-03-23
- KomodoDragon 3.2 (3569) – Berserk 20230311 (3476) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 24 Premier 2023 · 2023-03-21
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2835) 1-0 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-14
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2835) 1/2-1/2 · Clutch Chess Showdown Int · 2020-06-13
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2832) 1-0 · WCh Rapid TB 2018 · 2018-11-28
Highest-rated Lichess games
- doyoulikedonuts (2676) – FM The_Fawkes (2666) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- IM hyperreal (2673) – jieltmcommeta (2561) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- El_Precisione (2619) – jieltmcommeta (2572) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: Carls-Bremen System 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3
Continuations
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Closed Sicilian (5… Nc6 6. Bg2) A25 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. e4 O-O 5. Nge2 Nc6 6. Bg2
- English Opening: King's English Variation, Four Knights Variation, Fianchetto Line, Delayed .. Nc6 A29 · 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nf3 Re8 6. O-O e4 7. Nd4 Nc6
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.