https://repertoire-builder.com/ The chess opening meta, by rating band: what players at your level actually play, and what actually wins. en-us Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/italian-game.html https://repertoire-builder.com/italian-game.html Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4) scores 52.6% for white across 51.3M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/ruy-lopez.html https://repertoire-builder.com/ruy-lopez.html Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5) scores 53.7% for white across 25.6M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/scotch-game.html https://repertoire-builder.com/scotch-game.html Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4) scores 55.3% for white across 20.9M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/sicilian-defense.html https://repertoire-builder.com/sicilian-defense.html Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5) scores 50.4% for black across 124.9M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/french-defense.html https://repertoire-builder.com/french-defense.html French Defense (1.e4 e6) scores 50.1% for black across 65.8M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/caro-kann-defense.html https://repertoire-builder.com/caro-kann-defense.html Caro-Kann Defense (1.e4 c6) scores 50.8% for black across 45.8M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/scandinavian-defense.html https://repertoire-builder.com/scandinavian-defense.html Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5) scores 49.4% for black across 58.0M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/queens-gambit.html https://repertoire-builder.com/queens-gambit.html Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4) scores 54.8% for white across 48.0M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/london-system.html https://repertoire-builder.com/london-system.html London System (1.d4 d5 2.Bf4) scores 53.3% for white across 22.3M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/kings-indian-defense.html https://repertoire-builder.com/kings-indian-defense.html King's Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6) scores 50.2% for black across 6.4M Lichess games. Win rates, replies, and master games by rating. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/openings.html https://repertoire-builder.com/openings.html 10 chess openings compared by real Lichess win rate, move-by-move, across four rating bands from 1400 to 2000+. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/how-to-beat-the-london-system.html https://repertoire-builder.com/how-to-beat-the-london-system.html The London System (1.d4 d5 2.Bf4) scores well for White at club level — here's what the data says Black's best replies actually are, not just opinion. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/best-chess-openings-for-beginners.html https://repertoire-builder.com/best-chess-openings-for-beginners.html The 10 openings this site tracks, ranked by measured score at 1400-1600 rather than by opinion — with the sample size for every number shown. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/sicilian-vs-french-vs-caro-kann.html https://repertoire-builder.com/sicilian-vs-french-vs-caro-kann.html Head-to-head win rates for the three most common replies to 1.e4 c-pawn/e-pawn alternatives, across all four rating bands this site tracks. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/most-common-opening-mistakes-1600-1800.html https://repertoire-builder.com/most-common-opening-mistakes-1600-1800.html Moves that are played often but score badly at 1600-1800, aggregated across every opening this site tracks — true by arithmetic, not by engine evaluation. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/should-you-study-openings-under-1500.html https://repertoire-builder.com/should-you-study-openings-under-1500.html Standard advice says opening theory barely matters below 1500. Here is how much each tracked opening's score actually moves between rating bands. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/scandinavian-defense-at-club-level.html https://repertoire-builder.com/scandinavian-defense-at-club-level.html 1...d5 gets dismissed as unsound in beginner advice. Here is its measured score by rating band, from real Lichess games at every level this site tracks. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/guides.html https://repertoire-builder.com/guides.html 6 data-grounded guides on opening choice, common mistakes, and rating-band trends, backed by real Lichess Opening Explorer numbers. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT https://repertoire-builder.com/chess-opening-faq.html https://repertoire-builder.com/chess-opening-faq.html Plain-language answers about chess openings, ECO codes, and how to read Lichess Opening Explorer data — grounded in this site's own numbers where possible. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT