English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Four Knights Variation, Keres-Parma System
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 e6
The English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Four Knights Variation, Keres-Parma System is a chess opening classified as ECO A35, reached after 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 e6. It is a line of the English Opening. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 1 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 5. Bg2 (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 58; best line 5. Bg2 Qb6 6. O-O Be7 7. Ne1 O-O)
- ECO
- A35
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pp1p1ppp/2n1pn2/2p5/2P5/2N2NP1/PP1PPP1P/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 e6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 1 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Bg2 | 1 (100%) |
Master games
22 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 41%, Black 14%). The strongest:
- GM Denis Lazavik (2605) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) 1/2-1/2 · SpeedChess Final 2025 · 2026-02-07
- GM Vincent Keymer (2696) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2713) 1/2-1/2 · 85th Tata Steel Masters · 2023-01-24
- GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy (2588) – GM Bogdanovich, S. (2560) 1-0 · Nebesna Sotnya Mem Blitz · 2018-02-16
- GM Benjamin Bok (2587) – GM Guha Mitrabha (2545) 1-0 · CrunchLabs Masters PlayIn · 2024-07-17
- GM Branko Damljanovic (2474) – GM Luka Lenic (2633) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-HUN 2019-20 · 2019-11-17
Highest-rated Lichess games
- MagOl007 (2130) – vinjakjezivot (2156) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Four Knights Variation 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 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.