English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation
1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3
The English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A31, reached after 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3. 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 48 times by this move order. White won 50%, 4% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 3… cxd4 (65% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.08 (Stockfish, depth 58; best line 3… cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 d5 6. e3)
- ECO
- A31
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp1ppppp/5n2/2p5/2PP4/5N2/PP2PPPP/RNBQKB1R b KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 5 | |
| 1500-1999 | 27 | |
| 2000+ | 16 | |
| All | 48 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… cxd4 | 31 (65%) | |
| 3… g6 | 9 (19%) | |
| 3… e6 | 6 (13%) | |
| 3… Nc6 | 2 (4%) |
Master games
28 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 11%, Black 46%). The strongest:
- GM Jure Skoberne (2541) – GM Matej Sebenik (2549) 1/2-1/2 · 20th Pirc Memorial 2017 · 2017-07-02
- GM Igor Stohl (2495) – FM Fabian Baenziger (2327) 1-0 · TCh-AUT 2016-17 · 2017-03-25
- IM Peter Schreiner (2463) – FM Alessandro Bove (2317) 1-0 · 20th Trieste Open 2018 · 2018-09-06
- FM Pawel Sowinski (2313) – IM Mikhael Garakov (2447) 1-0 · Titled Tue 2nd May Early · 2023-05-02
- Armen M. Arakeljan (2252) – IM Viktor Moiseev (2405) 1/2-1/2 · Tula GM 2018 · 2018-04-14
Highest-rated Lichess games
- LetsPlayLego (2265) – smarteddy (2409) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 600 + 0s
- uhelzem (2280) – fishing_tadpole (2309) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Aji_RCK (2200) – BoehseOnkelz (2250) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
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.