English Opening: Agincourt Defense
The Agincourt Defense (1.c4 e6) answers the English Opening by preparing a supported ...d5, much as in the French Defense. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
11,163,707 games: White 49.6% / Draw 5.6% / Black 44.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 5,743,0195.7M | ||
| 1,771,9661.8M | ||
| 1,253,7561.3M | ||
| 808,271808K | ||
| 559,719560K | ||
| French Defense: Steiner Variation | 512,051512K | |
| 167,257167K | ||
| 163,112163K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.26 The position is about equal
Best play: 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 48% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2M | |
| 1400–1799 | 5.6M | |
| 1800–2199 | 6.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.5M | |
| Masters, over the board | 31K |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, V.
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Description
The Agincourt Defense (1.c4 e6) answers the English Opening by preparing a supported ...d5, much as in the French Defense. It is a flexible move that often transposes to other openings.
The idea
Black intends 2...d5 and a solid centre. White usually replies 2.Nc3 or 2.Nf3, and the game most often transposes to the Queen's Gambit Declined or the Catalan Opening, or to lines of the Anglo-Indian Defense if Black plays ...Nf6. For a Black player who wants a Queen's Gambit Declined against 1.c4, 1...e6 and 2...d5 is the most accurate move order: the game transposes if White plays d4. After 1...Nf6 2.Nc3 e6, by contrast, White can avoid the QGD with 3.e4.
Main lines
- 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2, the Neo-Catalan, similar to the Catalan Opening. Black either opens the game with 4...dxc4, the Neo-Catalan Accepted, usually followed by 5.Qa4+ and 6.Qxc4, or plays the quieter 4...Be7, the Neo-Catalan Declined.
- Catalan-type lines with ...Nf6 and ...d5, such as the Semi-Slav set-up with ...c6 and the Catalan Defense Accepted with ...dxc4.
- 2.Nf3 d5 3.b3, heading for a Réti Opening instead of a Queen's Gambit.
- 2.d4, transposing to 1.d4 e6 2.c4 lines such as the Queen's Gambit Declined, the Dutch or the English Defense.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- A precise move order for reaching a Queen's Gambit Declined against 1.c4.
- Solid, French-like structures.
Weaknesses
- White is not obliged to play d4 and can choose Réti or Catalan set-ups.
- Black must be ready for several structures.
Who should play it
The Agincourt suits Black players with a Queen's Gambit Declined or French repertoire who want to keep similar structures against 1.c4.
The numbers
On Lichess White leads by about 5 points at every level: 50.6% against 45.6% under 1400, 50.6% against 45.2% at 1400–1799, 49.5% against 44.9% at 1800–2199 and 48.1% against 43.5% from 2200 up. In about 30,900 master games White won 36.0%, Black 21.7%, and 42.3% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the English Opening: Agincourt Defense
2. Nf3 scores best for White: 54.7%, with White winning 51.4% and Black 41.9% of 808K games. The most played, 2. Nc3, scores 52.0% in 5.7M games, and 2. e3 scores lowest: 51.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 2. Nc3.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The English Opening: Agincourt Defense has stayed between 0.39% and 0.46% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.45% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.39% | 139,647 |
| 2017 | 0.42% | 233,648 |
| 2018 | 0.46% | 361,323 |
| 2019 | 0.46% | 577,242 |
| 2020 | 0.45% | 1,320,325 |
| 2021 | 0.42% | 1,625,171 |
| 2022 | 0.41% | 1,550,588 |
| 2023 | 0.42% | 1,573,278 |
| 2024 | 0.43% | 1,540,493 |
| 2025 | 0.45% | 1,556,036 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.45% | 495,403 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (7)
- A40 English Defense: Hartlaub Gambit Accepted 2. d4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. e4 f5 5. exf5 Nf6
- A40 English Defense: Hartlaub Gambit Declined 2. d4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. e4 f5 5. d5
- A13 Agincourt Defense 2. Nf3
- A17 Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Indian Formation 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6
- A17 Anglo-Indian Defense, Zvjaginsev-Krasenkow Attack 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Bb4 4. g4
- A18 Mikenas-Carls Variation 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4
- A32 Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense 2. d4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
Transpositions
All 37 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- A40 English Defense: Hartlaub Gambit Accepted 5 moves
- A40 English Defense: Hartlaub Gambit Declined 5 moves
- A13 Agincourt Defense 2 moves
- A17 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Indian Formation 3 moves
- A17 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Zvjaginsev-Krasenkow Attack 4 moves
- A18 English Opening: Mikenas-Carls Variation 3 moves
- A32 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense 4 moves
- A13 Agincourt Defense 2 moves
- A13 Catalan Defense Accepted 4 moves
- A13 Catalan Defense, Semi-Slav Defense 4 moves
- A13 Wimpy System 5 moves
- A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Indian Formation 4 moves
- A17 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Indian Variation 5 moves
- A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Romanishin Variation 3 moves
- A18 Mikenas-Carls Variation 3 moves
- A18 Mikenas-Carls Variation 4 moves
- A19 English Opening: Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian 3 moves
- A33 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Geller Variation 6 moves
- A33 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense 5 moves
- A30 English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Hedgehog Defense 6 moves
- A30 English Opening: Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation 10 moves
- A13 Agincourt Defense 5 moves
- A13 Catalan Defense 5 moves
- A13 Catalan Defense 3 moves
- A13 Kurajica Defense 3 moves
- A19 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Flohr-Mikenas-Carls Variation, Nei Gambit 4 moves
- A13 English Opening: Neo-Catalan 3 moves
- A13 Agincourt Defense 6 moves
- A13 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Bogoljubow Defense 4 moves
- A13 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Tarrasch Defense 6 moves
- A13 English Opening: Neo-Catalan Declined 4 moves
- A14 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined 5 moves
- A14 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined, Early b3 5 moves
- A14 English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Keres Defense 7 moves
- A14 Neo-Catalan Declined 6 moves
- A14 Early b3 5 moves
- A14 Early b3 5 moves
Sources
- Theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article English Opening, version of 26 August 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Agincourt Defense (A13)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-agincourt-defense