Chess openings by rating

Chess Openings for Players Rated 1600–1799

Between 1600 and 1799 the Sicilian overtakes the King's Knight Opening at the top of the list. Gambits gain ground too: the King's Gambit and its accepted lines score clearly above their averages here.

1...e5 and 1...c5 close in

Against 1.e4, the gap between 1...e5 and 1...c5 narrows to about fifteen points of share. Against 1.d4, 1...Nf6 climbs past a fifth of Black's share.

White's first move

  1. 1. e461%
  2. 1. d425%
  3. 1. c44%
  4. 1. Nf33%

Black against 1.e4

  1. 1... e539%
  2. 1... c524%
  3. 1... e612%
  4. 1... d58%

Black against 1.d4

  1. 1... d544%
  2. 1... Nf622%
  3. 1... e612%
  4. 1... g65%

The Sicilian takes the lead

Below the top two, the French Defense and the Queen's Gambit hold steady, and the French Normal Variation (1.e4 e6 2.d4) joins the top ten.

  1. Sicilian Defense14.6%
  2. King's Knight Opening14.4%
  3. King's Knight Opening: Normal Variation8.7%
  4. French Defense7.6%
  5. Queen's Gambit5.7%
  6. Indian Defense5.4%
  7. Scandinavian Defense4.6%
  8. French Defense: Normal Variation3.7%
  9. Italian Game3.5%
  10. Philidor Defense3.4%
  11. Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian3.4%
  12. Bishop's Opening3.2%
  13. Caro-Kann Defense3.1%
  14. King's Gambit3.1%
  15. Horwitz Defense2.9%

The f-pawn goes forward

Beyond the King's Gambit family, the McDonnell Attack (2.f4 against the Sicilian), the Bird Opening (1.f4) and the Modern Defense setup against 1.d4 all sit above their averages. Most of these start with an early f-pawn advance.

  1. Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack1.2% here, 0.7% overall
  2. King's Gambit Accepted: King's Knight's Gambit1.6% here, 0.9% overall
  3. King's Gambit Accepted1.8% here, 1% overall
  4. Bird Opening1.8% here, 1% overall
  5. King's Gambit3.1% here, 2% overall
  6. Queen's Pawn Game: Modern Defense1.3% here, 0.9% overall

Lines that fall back

The Vienna Game, the Three Knights, the Center Game, the Chigorin setup and White's 1.e3 and 1.Nf3 starts all drop below their averages.

  1. Queen's Pawn Game: Chigorin Variation0.5% here, 0.8% overall
  2. Vienna Game0.6% here, 1% overall
  3. Van't Kruijs Opening1.4% here, 2.1% overall
  4. Three Knights Opening0.6% here, 0.9% overall
  5. Center Game1.3% here, 1.9% overall
  6. Zukertort Opening2.5% here, 3.4% overall

Openings by rating

Published by BeaconChess

AI-generated content. Every figure comes from the opening books BeaconChess opponents play from, built from rated Lichess games. Check important lines on the board before relying on them.

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