Ware Defense

1. e4 a5

The Ware Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 a5. 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 8,164 times by this move order. White won 56%, 4% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 2. d4 (34% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.76 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. d4 c6)

ECO: B00
Moves: 2 plies
FEN: rnbqkbnr/1ppppppp/8/p7/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2
PGN: 1. e4 a5

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average rating	Games	White / draw / Black
0-1499	5,238	56%40%
1500-1999	2,695	56%41%
2000+	231	49%44%
All	8,164	56%40%

Most played moves

Move	Games	White / draw / Black
2. d4	2,756 (34%)	57%39%
2. Nf3	2,437 (30%)	55%41%
2. Bc4	962 (12%)	58%39%
2. Nc3	498 (6%)	60%37%
2. f4	249 (3%)	55%43%
2. d3	202 (2%)	51%44%
2. a4	189 (2%)	51%46%
2. Qf3	181 (2%)	55%41%

Master games

228 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 10%, Black 56%). The strongest:

GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2732) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 0-1 · Titled Tue 25th Jul Late · 2023-07-25
GM Maxim Matlakov (2673) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 0-1 · Titled Tue 25th Jul Late · 2023-07-25
GM Yangyi Yu (2720) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2780) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-04
GM Yangyi Yu (2720) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2780) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-04
GM Yangyi Yu (2720) – GM Hikaru Nakamura (2780) 0-1 · chess.com SpeedChess 2023 · 2023-09-04

Search all games of the Ware Defense and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

IM Aphelios00 (2712) – Catinlove (2660) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
SackOnTheKing930 (2712) – July16Q (2629) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
FM The_Fawkes (2674) – Catinlove (2652) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s

Comes from

King's Pawn Game (1. e4) 1. e4

Continuations

Ware Defense: Snagglepuss Defense B00 · 1. e4 a5 2. d4 Nc6

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.