English Opening: King's English Variation, Reversed Sicilian: what to play after d6?

In the King's English Variation of the English Opening, White's most active and engine-favored choice is Nf3, which develops the kingside knight and holds an evaluation of +0.30. Alternatively, the hypermodern fianchetto setup with g3 is the most popular continuation in the database, appearing in 47.8% of recorded games (1.79M recorded) with an evaluation of +0.25. Both setups offer White a solid 55.6% scoring rate while contesting the central light squares.

Developing with Nf3

Selected in 23.2% of games (866K recorded), Nf3 immediately applies pressure to the central e5 pawn. An illustrative engine continuation features the combative reply Nf3 f5 d4 e4 Ng1 Be7, where Black advances on the kingside while White strikes at the center before redeploying f3 to g1. This path creates an asymmetrical pawn structure with dynamic chances for both sides.

The Popular Kingside Fianchetto

The most frequent choice across the 3,731,923 recorded positions is g3, preparing to place the light-squared bishop along the long diagonal. The engine's illustrative line continues with g3 Nc6 Bg2 g6 e3 Bg7, leading to a symmetrical setup where White combines the pressure of g2 with central space control.

Other Central Approaches

White can also choose flexible central pawn advances. The move e3 is played in 16.0% of games (597K recorded) with an evaluation of +0.22 and a 54.4% score, leading to open central play in the line e3 g6 d4 exd4 exd4 Bg7. Meanwhile, d3 secures the c4 pawn and scores 53.5% across 12.5% of games (468K recorded), often transposing into similar fianchetto structures via d3 g6 g3 Bg7 Bg2 Nc6.