Opener Lab

Compare ESSES

Pick a word to compare against.

ESSES F
78.6%
of words eliminated

How ESSES performs

Played first, ESSES removes about 78.6% of the possible-answer list on average and scores 2.97 bits of information. Its first-turn information ranks #14,648 out of 14,855 Wordle guesses tested. It is not on the possible-answer list, but it can still be useful because of the feedback groups it creates.

Tried against 1,858 past Wordle answers, ESSES left an average of 508 possible answers standing after the first guess. Its largest group in that replay came on July 19, 2026, when the answer was CHURN and 916 candidates survived.

First-guess odds

OutcomeESSES
First-turn solve*0%
At least one green20.8%
Any green or yellow61.2%
Whole row gray38.8%
Worst case answers left916

*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.