English Opening: Agincourt Defense 1…e6 2. Nf3
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Statistics from Lichess
2,064,694 games: White 52.6% / Draw 5.9% / Black 41.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,096,3951.1M | ||
| 255,583256K | ||
| 136,796137K | ||
| 127,908128K | ||
| 107,850108K | ||
| 97,36897K | ||
| 76,07776K | ||
| 27,86728K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.11 The position is about equal
Best play: 2... Nf6 3. d4 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 55% both under 1400 and at 2200 and up, and 57% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 242K | |
| 1400–1799 | 752K | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 420K | |
| Masters, over the board | 13K |
Master games
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Morozevich, A.
- So, W. – Kramnik, V.
- Kramnik, V. – Nakamura, H.
- Ding Liren – Nepomniachtchi, I.
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
Overview
English Opening: Agincourt Defense (ECO A13, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Agincourt Defense, reached after 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 (2 moves).
In 2,064,694 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.6%, Black 41.5% and 5.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…d5, in 53% of those games.
It branches into 10 named variations; the most played are English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Catalan Defense, Semi-Slav Defense and English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense. In all, 25 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 2. Nf3
2…f5 scores best for Black: 46.5%, with Black winning 43.3% and White 50.4% of 108K games. The most played, 2…d5, scores 45.3% in 1.1M games, and 2…c5 scores lowest: 43.4%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…Nf6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black'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
This line peaked in 2018 at 0.1% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.082% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.084% | 30,019 |
| 2017 | 0.092% | 50,436 |
| 2018 | 0.1% | 80,626 |
| 2019 | 0.095% | 118,155 |
| 2020 | 0.084% | 246,646 |
| 2021 | 0.073% | 285,101 |
| 2022 | 0.073% | 274,736 |
| 2023 | 0.075% | 280,472 |
| 2024 | 0.079% | 282,259 |
| 2025 | 0.082% | 284,773 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.085% | 93,492 |
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 (10)
- A13 Agincourt Defense 2…d5
- A13 Catalan Defense Accepted 2…Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4
- A13 Catalan Defense, Semi-Slav Defense 2…Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 c6
- A13 Wimpy System 2…Nf6 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 c5 5. e3
- A15 Anglo-Indian Defense, Queen's Indian Formation 2…Nf6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7
- A15 Anglo-Indian Defense, Romanishin Variation 2…Nf6 3. g3 a6
- A33 Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Geller Variation 2…Nf6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d4 Nc6 5. g3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Qb6
- A33 Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense 2…Nf6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6
- A30 Symmetrical Variation, Hedgehog Defense 2…Nf6 3. Nc3 c5 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7
- A30 Symmetrical, Hedgehog, Flexible Formation 2…c5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 d6 9. Rd1 a6 10. b3 Nbd7
Transpositions
All 25 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- 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
- A15 English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, Romanishin Variation 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
- 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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Agincourt Defense (A13)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-agincourt-defense-2