King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening (3… Nf6 4. d4)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. d4
The King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. d4. It is a line of the King's Pawn Game. 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 54 times by this move order. White won 48%, 6% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 4… exd4 (65% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.42 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 4… exd4 5. e5 Ng4 6. O-O Be7 7. Nxd4)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppp1ppp/2n2n2/4p3/3PP3/5N2/PPP1BPPP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. d4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 33 | |
| 1500-1999 | 21 | |
| All | 54 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… exd4 | 35 (65%) | |
| 4… Nxe4 | 7 (13%) | |
| 4… d6 | 6 (11%) | |
| 4… Bb4+ | 2 (4%) | |
| 4… Nxd4 | 2 (4%) | |
| 4… Bd6 | 1 (2%) | |
| 4… Be7 | 1 (2%) |
Master games
2 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 0%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- Ludmila Leolko (1991) – Ivan Kirushin (1785) 1-0 · St.Petersburg Summer Open · 2017-08-22
Search all games of the King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Braddan (1814) – BulatMusin (2154) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 600 + 0s
- MrMse (1877) – noimet (1918) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- Gianlucamelandri (1795) – HOTAPuYC (1845) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening (2… Nc6 3. Be2) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2
Continuations
- King's Pawn Game: Tayler Opening, Basman Gambit C44 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5
More King's Pawn Game lines (all)
- King's Pawn Game (1. e4) B00
- King's Pawn Game: Maróczy Defense B07
- King's Pawn Game (1. e4 e5) C20
- King's Pawn Game: Alapin Opening C20
- King's Pawn Game: Bavarian Gambit C20
- King's Pawn Game: Beyer Gambit C20
- King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, King's Gambit Reversed C20
- King's Pawn Game: Clam Variation, Radisch Gambit C20
- King's Pawn Game: King's Head Opening (1… e5 2. f3) C20
- King's Pawn Game: King's Head Opening (2… Nf6 3. Nc3) C20
- King's Pawn Game: Leonardis Variation C20
- King's Pawn Game: MacLeod Attack C20
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.