Openings › Insights

Chess Opening Insights From Lichess Data

Questions answered from the same sample as the opening pages (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), each with one table, its rule and a CSV. A page appears only when its data passes its minimum.

• 1.e4 vs 1.d4: White's Score at Every Lichess Rating Level: 1.e4 was played in 65.9% of games at Under 1200 and 45.5% at 2100+; 1.d4 in 21.3% and 29.3%. White scored 52.2–52.5% with 1.d4 and 51.2–52.0% with 1.e4 across the levels.
• Most Played Openings by Lichess Rating (Data to Sep 2026): At Under 1200 the most played start was King's Pawn Game (e4 e5, 37.5% of games); at 2100+ it was Sicilian Defense (e4 c5, 12.4%).
• Biggest Score Drop From Under 1200 to 2100+ (Lichess Rating): The largest drop from Under 1200 to 2100+ was White's score with the Italian Game: Evans Gambit: 56.2% → 48.7% (-7.5 points; combined margin ±6.8). A small sample: 349 games at one level.
• Most Drawish Chess Openings on Lichess (Data to Sep 2026): At 2100+, the Ruy Lopez had the highest draw share of the site's opening pages: 16.8% of 9,418 games (5.2% at all levels together).