English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation
1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6
The English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A35, reached after 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6. It is a line of the English Opening. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 11,881 times by this move order. White won 51%, 5% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 3. g3 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3. Nf3 e5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7)
- ECO
- A35
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2n5/2p5/2P5/2N5/PP1PPPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 2 3- PGN
1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2,011 | |
| 1500-1999 | 7,103 | |
| 2000+ | 2,767 | |
| All | 11,881 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. g3 Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights, Fianchetto Variation | 5,046 (42%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 2,947 (25%) | |
| 3. e3 | 1,567 (13%) | |
| 3. e4 | 1,144 (10%) | |
| 3. d3 | 767 (6%) | |
| 3. a3 | 136 (1%) | |
| 3. b3 | 109 (1%) | |
| 3. f4 | 38 (0%) |
Master games
1,773 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 24%, Black 31%). The strongest:
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2751) – GM Viswanathan Anand (2786) 1-0 · Zurich Korchnoi CC 2017 · 2017-04-14
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) – GM Peter Leko (2663) 1-0 · Legends of Chess Prelim · 2020-07-23
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2751) – GM Quang Liem Le (2739) 1/2-1/2 · Saint Louis Blitz 2017 · 2017-08-17
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2759) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2728) 0-1 · GCT Super Rapid Poland · 2026-05-06
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2785) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2701) 0-1 · Airthings Masters Div 1 W · 2023-02-06
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM Guary1 (2801) – evg85 (2793) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2845) – Superstitions_Guy (2740) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- doyoulikedonuts (2647) – KnightlyInsight (2761) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Normal Variation 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3
Continuations
- English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights, Fianchetto Variation A36 · 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3
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.