English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined 6…c5 7. e3
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Statistics from Lichess
18,721 games: White 49.7% / Draw 7.9% / Black 42.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 14,44414K | ||
| 1,8491,849 | ||
| 1,6731,673 | ||
| 325325 | ||
| 183183 | ||
| 5050 | ||
| 4444 | ||
| 4141 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
0.00 The position is about equal
Best play: 7... Nc6 8. d4 b6 9. Bb2 Ba6 10. Ne5 Rc8 11. Re1 cxd4 12. Nxc6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
Overview
English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined (ECO A14, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined, reached after 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. b3 c5 7. e3 (7 moves).
In 18,721 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.7%, Black 42.4% and 7.9% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Nc6, in 77% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations.
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How to answer 7. e3
7…d4 scores best for Black: 48.3%, with Black winning 44.9% and White 48.3% of 1,849 games. The most played, 7…Nc6, scores 46.5% in 14K games, and 7…b6 scores lowest: 43.9%. Stockfish's first choice is 7…Nc6.
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
Variations (2)
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-4