English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights Variation
A35 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6
White scores 54.6% here across 452 club games — but the 13.5% who answer e3 score 48.4%, 6 points worse.
What White actually plays here
Across 452 games from a Lichess-derived book of club play, White scores 54.6% in this position. These are the replies people choose, and how each one works out.
| Reply | Games | Share | White scores | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| g3 | 198 | 43.8% | 51.8% | holds up |
| Nf3 | 118 | 26.1% | 56.8% | holds up |
| e3 | 61 | 13.5% | 48.4% | below the line |
| e4 | 39 | 8.6% | 56.4% | holds up |
| d3 | 28 | 6.2% | 76.8% | holds up |
"Below the line" means the reply scores at least three points worse than the position does overall. Replies played fewer than 25 times are left out: the sample is too small to read.
Is this costing you anything?
A table of averages cannot tell you whether you go wrong here — only your own games can. Opening Leak Lab reads your Chess.com or Lichess archive, finds the decisions you repeat, and checks each one against this book and a bundled Stockfish.