English Opening: Agincourt Defense

ECO A13-A14beginner

The Agincourt Defense meets the English with 1.c4 e6, preparing ...d5 and keeping the door open to a Queen's Gambit Declined or a Catalan. The line here runs 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6, a quiet double-fianchetto in which both sides complete development before anything happens. It is a strategic opening in the truest sense: almost no forcing lines, and the whole game decided by who understands the pawn breaks better.

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Main line

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6 7.Bb2 Bb7

Diagram shows the position after 6 half-moves of the main line. On SpeakChess you can drill this line move by move — the trainer plays the other side and corrects you instantly, then spaced repetition schedules each variation so you review it right before you would forget it.

Move by move

The first 12 moves of the main line, explained one at a time. Every move of every variation is annotated like this inside the trainer — this page shows the opening moves so you can judge the explanations before signing up.

1.c4 White pushes the pawn to c4, starting the English Opening. This move grabs space on the queenside and invites Black to battle for the center without committing a pawn to e4 or d4 right away.
1...e6 Black advances the pawn to e6, opening the diagonal for the dark-squared bishop and supporting a future d5 push in the center. A solid, careful response.
2.g3 White nudges the pawn to g3, preparing to place the bishop on g2 where it will point powerfully down the long diagonal toward the center and Black's queenside.
2...d5 Black strikes in the center with d5, claiming important central space and challenging White's c4 pawn directly. This is the Agincourt Defense approach.
3.Bg2 The bishop glides to g2, completing the fianchetto setup. Sitting on g2, it controls the long diagonal and puts pressure on the center and queenside from a safe distance.
3...Nf6 Black brings the knight to f6, a great central square. It attacks the center and will work well alongside the other pieces as Black develops.
4.Nf3 White develops the knight to f3, a very active square. It helps control the center, supports future pawn advances, and keeps an eye on key squares.
4...Be7 Black develops the bishop to e7, a safe and solid square. The bishop protects the king's position and prepares for kingside castling.
5.O-O White castles kingside, tucking the king safely behind the pawns and bringing the rook to f1 where it can be active along the f-file.
5...O-O Black castles kingside too, moving the king to safety behind the pawns. Both kings are now tucked away and the rooks can join the action.
6.b3 White advances the pawn to b3, preparing to develop the bishop to b2 on the next move. This will complete a powerful fianchetto on the queenside as well.
6...b6 Black mirrors the idea with b6, also preparing to fianchetto a bishop to b7. The bishop will be very active on that long diagonal pointing toward the center.

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Win rates by rating

Results from real online games, measured after the line shown in each row. Most opening sites show one aggregate number — how an opening scores depends heavily on who is playing it.

Rating	Games	White wins	Draws	Black wins	Position after
400-600	99	33.3%	6.1%	60.6%	1.c4 e6
600-800	31	41.9%	0%	58.1%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3
800-1000	316	55.1%	4.7%	40.2%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3
1000-1200	72	50%	4.2%	45.8%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3
1200-1400	95	47.4%	2.1%	50.5%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3
1400-1600	53	47.2%	7.5%	45.3%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6
1600-1800	102	52%	3.9%	44.1%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3
1800-2000	112	48.2%	8%	43.8%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6
2000-2200	342	45.3%	8.8%	45.9%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6
2200-2400	545	48.8%	8.4%	42.8%	1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6

Most played continuations (2200-2400 rating)

After 1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6:

Bb2 — played 81.1% of the time (White wins 48.2%, draws 9.5%, Black wins 42.3%)
cxd5 — played 9.5% of the time (White wins 53.8%, draws 3.9%, Black wins 42.3%)
d4 — played 4.2% of the time (White wins 43.5%, draws 4.3%, Black wins 52.2%)

Related openings

Frequently asked questions

Does the Agincourt transpose into other openings?

Constantly. With d4 from White it becomes a Queen's Gambit Declined or, with the bishop already on g2, a Catalan. That is the main reason to play it: you reach familiar structures while sidestepping whatever White prepared against 1...d5. Knowing which transpositions you are happy with is more useful than memorising the independent English lines.

What are the pawn breaks in this structure?

For Black, ...c5 to challenge the centre and ...d4 or ...dxc4 to release the tension; for White, d4 followed by e4, or a queenside expansion with a3 and b4. Both sides usually spend ten quiet moves preparing before one of these lands. Playing a break before the pieces support it is the most common error here.

Is the double fianchetto hard to play?

It is easy to reach and hard to play well. The bishops on g2 and b7 exert long-range pressure that only pays off once lines open, so patience is essential. Beginners often trade them off or block them with their own pawns; the skill is keeping the long diagonals clear until the moment the centre breaks.