English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Kurajica Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
175,645 games: White 54.9% / Draw 6.2% / Black 39.0%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 124,237124K | ||
| 25,89126K | ||
| 13,40213K | ||
| 5,3075,307 | ||
| 5,0565,056 | ||
| 514514 | ||
| 402402 | ||
| 341341 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.29 The position is about equal
Best play: 4. b3 Nd7 5. Bb2 Ngf6 6. Bg2 Bd6 7. d4 Ne4 8. O-O f5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the worse this line does for Black: Black scores 46% under 1400, 41% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 4,082 | |
| 1400–1799 | 26K | |
| 1800–2199 | 116K | |
| 2200 and up | 40K | |
| Masters, over the board | 388 |
Master games
- Gelfand, B. – Shirov, A.
- Spraggett, K. – Burmakin, V.
- Bacrot, E. – Timofeev, A.
- Korotylev, A. – Timofeev, A.
- Gurevich, M. – Bareev, E.
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 27, 2026
Overview
English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Kurajica Defense (ECO A13, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Agincourt Defense, reached after 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 c6 (3 moves).
In 175,645 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.9%, Black 39.0% and 6.2% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. Bg2, in 71% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Kurajica Defense
4. b3 scores best for White: 58.7%, with White winning 55.4% and Black 38.0% of 26K games. The most played, 4. Bg2, scores 58.4% in 124K games, and 4. cxd5 scores lowest: 52.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 4. b3.
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, Kurajica Defense peaked in 2018 at 0.0094% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0071% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0085% | 3,035 |
| 2017 | 0.0088% | 4,828 |
| 2018 | 0.0094% | 7,397 |
| 2019 | 0.0087% | 10,802 |
| 2020 | 0.0072% | 20,939 |
| 2021 | 0.006% | 23,321 |
| 2022 | 0.0061% | 22,919 |
| 2023 | 0.006% | 22,586 |
| 2024 | 0.0066% | 23,700 |
| 2025 | 0.0071% | 24,631 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0073% | 8,018 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Kurajica Defense (A13)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-agincourt-defense-kurajica-defense