What the top 100 titled Lichess players actually play (and where they score worst)
We pulled the last 150 rated games of 100 active titled players from the Lichess leaderboards (15,000 games, data from 2026-10-16) and tallied each player's three most-played openings with each colour. Here is what the top of Lichess really plays, and where it is most beatable.
1. First moves: 1.e4 leads, but 1.Nf3 is everywhere
Favourite first move with White: 1.e4 (44 players), 1.d4 (31 players), 1.Nf3 (18 players), 1.c4 (3 players), out of 100 players. 18 of them prefer 1.Nf3: flexible, theory-light setups that are easy to play at speed.
2. Against 1.e4, expect the Sicilian or the Caro-Kann
Each player's most-played defence with Black: Sicilian Defense (34), Caro-Kann Defense (20), French Defense (11), Modern Defense (7). If your 1.e4 preparation is thin against the Sicilian and Caro-Kann, start there: that's what you will meet most.
3. Where even top players score worst
Across every opening with at least 100 games in the sample, these are the lines where the titled players score lowest (score = points per game; win 1, draw ½). The lowest is Zukertort Opening games with Black: 56%, versus a 64% average overall.
| Opening | They had | Games | Players | Their score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zukertort Opening | Black | 486 | 45 | 56% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined | Black | 135 | 13 | 60% |
| Queen's Pawn Game | Black | 208 | 23 | 61% |
| Sicilian Defense | Black | 727 | 47 | 62% |
| Caro-Kann Defense | Black | 462 | 27 | 62% |
| French Defense | White | 165 | 15 | 62% |
"They had Black" in a Zukertort Opening row means games where the titled player had Black against 1.Nf3. "They had White" in a French Defense row means they were facing the French.
The pattern in this sample: flexible 1.Nf3 setups and solid defences such as the French and the Queen's Gambit Declined give strong players the fewest easy wins, compared with 70% when they face the Sicilian as White.
4. Every player has a soft spot
35 of the 100 players score under 50% in at least one of their own most-played lines (10+ games). A few examples:
- FM MaratGilfanovYoutube: 19% in Zukertort Opening games with Black (13 games)
- GM lanchester1: 21% in Mikenas Defense games with Black (19 games)
- IM NINDJAxx8: 21% in King's Indian Attack games with Black (14 games)
- IM hibyehwa: 22% in Zukertort Opening games with Black (23 games)
- GM LeonMendonca_YT: 23% in Queen's Pawn Game games with White (11 games)
That is the point of preparation: an opening a player picks often but scores badly in is a target, and you only find it by looking at that player's own games.
5. What this means for your next game
Use the averages as a starting point, then check the specific person you're facing: find their most-played line per colour, check their score in it, and pick the line from your repertoire that heads toward their weakest one. Our step-by-step routine: how to prepare for a chess opponent. Or browse the free previews for all 100 players.
Method: each player's last 150 rated standard games (mostly bullet and blitz: 98% of the sample) via the public Lichess API. Openings grouped by family name; only each player's top three per colour are counted, so the totals cover their main repertoire, not every game. Not affiliated with Lichess.