English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense 5. Nxd4 Nc6
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
334,683 games: White 48.0% / Draw 6.6% / Black 45.4%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 73,27073K | ||
| 72,07672K | ||
| 45,41445K | ||
| 39,84840K | ||
| 36,55637K | ||
| 22,67123K | ||
| 17,49417K | ||
| 9,3999,399 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.20 The position is about equal
Best play: 6. g3 Bc5 7. Nb3 Bb4 8. Bg2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Bxc3
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 52% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 46% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 9,253 | |
| 1400–1799 | 80K | |
| 1800–2199 | 201K | |
| 2200 and up | 78K | |
| Masters, over the board | 4,613 |
Master games
- Carlsen, M. – Kramnik, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, V.
- Nakamura, H. – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, V.
- Carlsen, M. – Anand, 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: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense (ECO A33, Flank Openings) is a variation of the English Opening: Agincourt Defense, reached after 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 (5 moves).
In 334,683 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 48.0%, Black 45.4% and 6.6% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. g3, in 22% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 5…Nc6
The most played answer, 6. g3, also scores best for White: 55.9%, with White winning 52.4% and Black 40.7% of 73K games. Of the main answers, 6. Bg5 scores lowest: 47.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. g3.
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
This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.012% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.015% (its peak: 0.017% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.015% | 5,239 |
| 2017 | 0.015% | 8,425 |
| 2018 | 0.017% | 13,737 |
| 2019 | 0.016% | 20,457 |
| 2020 | 0.015% | 43,620 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 48,143 |
| 2022 | 0.012% | 45,103 |
| 2023 | 0.012% | 45,749 |
| 2024 | 0.012% | 43,240 |
| 2025 | 0.012% | 41,498 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 13,326 |
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: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation, Spielmann Defense (A33)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/english-opening-symmetrical-variation-anti-benoni-variation-spielmann-defense-2