English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Three Knights Variation
1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3
The English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Three Knights Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A34, reached after 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3. It is a line of the English Opening. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 668 times by this move order. White won 52%, 5% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3… Nc6 (30% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.17 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3… Nc6 4. g3 e6 5. Bg2 Qb6 6. O-O)
- ECO
- A34
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp1ppppp/5n2/2p5/2P5/2N2N2/PP1PPPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 3 3- PGN
1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 92 | |
| 1500-1999 | 335 | |
| 2000+ | 241 | |
| All | 668 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… Nc6 | 202 (30%) | |
| 3… d5 | 122 (18%) | |
| 3… g6 | 119 (18%) | |
| 3… e6 | 118 (18%) | |
| 3… d6 | 76 (11%) | |
| 3… b6 | 14 (2%) | |
| 3… e5 Symmetrical Variation (3. Nf3 e5) | 9 (1%) | |
| 3… a6 | 4 (1%) |
Master games
462 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 23%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- GM Levon Aronian (2759) – GM Praggnanandhaa R (2676) 1-0 · Julius Baer GenCup Prelim · 2022-09-21
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2701) – GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2633) 1/2-1/2 · 23rd Dubai Open 2023 · 2023-06-04
- GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2653) – GM Levan Pantsulaia (2612) 1-0 · World Blitz 2017 · 2017-12-30
- GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov (2645) – GM Ivan Rozum (2566) 1-0 · Euro Online +2300 Day 1 · 2020-05-29
- GM Rafael Leitao (2592) – GM Vasif Durarbayli (2615) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 14th Dec · 2021-12-14
Highest-rated Lichess games
- slouuurps (2707) – LuisEQuesadaPerez (2805) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- CM holtchess (2619) – FM sparking-genio (2566) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- jieltmcommeta (2587) – CapybaraMelon (2566) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Normal Variation 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3
Continuations
- English Opening: Symmetrical Variation (3. Nf3 e5) A35 · 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 e5
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.