English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
599,512 games: White 49.7% / Draw 8.6% / Black 41.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 531,757532K | ||
| 26,71127K | ||
| 14,70015K | ||
| 6,8906,890 | ||
| 6,1396,139 | ||
| 4,6884,688 | ||
| 4,4414,441 | ||
| 1,0121,012 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.13 The position is about equal
Best play: 5... O-O 6. d4 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1,365 | |
| 1400–1799 | 19K | |
| 1800–2199 | 242K | |
| 2200 and up | 343K | |
| Masters, over the board | 9,835 |
Master games
- So, W. – Kramnik, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Caruana, F.
- Ding Liren – Giri, A.
- Aronian, L. – Kramnik, V.
- Kramnik, V. – Aronian, L.
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, Neo-Catalan Declined (ECO A14, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Neo-Catalan Declined, reached after 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O (5 moves).
In 599,512 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.7%, Black 41.7% and 8.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 5…O-O, in 89% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played is English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Keres Defense.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
Popularity by year
The English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined has gained ground since 2016: 0.026% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.017%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.017% | 5,979 |
| 2017 | 0.021% | 11,368 |
| 2018 | 0.029% | 22,477 |
| 2019 | 0.026% | 32,702 |
| 2020 | 0.026% | 74,773 |
| 2021 | 0.02% | 78,742 |
| 2022 | 0.02% | 76,544 |
| 2023 | 0.021% | 78,405 |
| 2024 | 0.024% | 85,509 |
| 2025 | 0.026% | 91,248 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.028% | 30,854 |
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 (2)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined (A14)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-agincourt-defense-neo-catalan-declined