English Opening: Neo-Catalan Declined
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Statistics from Lichess
560,450 games: White 49.2% / Draw 8.6% / Black 42.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined | 484,660485K | |
| Catalan Opening: Closed | 29,57430K | |
| English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined, Early b3 | 27,92228K | |
| 10,48210K | ||
| 2,6152,615 | ||
| 2,1932,193 | ||
| 996996 | ||
| 497497 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.14 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. d4 O-O 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. Qd3 b6 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. O-O Bb7
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 | 1,193 | |
| 1400–1799 | 17K | |
| 1800–2199 | 232K | |
| 2200 and up | 314K | |
| Masters, over the board | 9,696 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.
- So, W. – Kramnik, V.
- Ding Liren – Giri, A.
- Aronian, L. – Kramnik, V.
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: Neo-Catalan Declined (ECO A13, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Neo-Catalan, reached after 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 (4 moves).
In 560,450 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 42.2% and 8.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. O-O, in 86% of those games.
It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined and English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined, Early b3. In all, 6 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 play against the English Opening: Neo-Catalan Declined
The most played answer, 5. O-O (English Opening: Agincourt Defense, Neo-Catalan Declined), also scores best for White: 53.7%, with White winning 49.4% and Black 42.0% of 485K games. Of the main answers, 5. d4 scores lowest: 53.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 5. d4.
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: Neo-Catalan Declined has gained ground since 2016: 0.024% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.016% (its peak: 0.027% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.016% | 5,617 |
| 2017 | 0.02% | 10,829 |
| 2018 | 0.027% | 21,311 |
| 2019 | 0.024% | 30,237 |
| 2020 | 0.024% | 69,771 |
| 2021 | 0.019% | 74,404 |
| 2022 | 0.019% | 72,847 |
| 2023 | 0.02% | 73,534 |
| 2024 | 0.022% | 79,434 |
| 2025 | 0.024% | 84,243 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.026% | 28,345 |
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
All 6 named lines that continue from here
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “English Opening: Neo-Catalan Declined (A13)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-neo-catalan-declined