The English Opening: Agincourt Defense with g3 — Playing as Black

The key battle in this line centres on the d5-pawn. After 1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5, White can capture, support, or ignore the tension. The most popular choice is cxd5 (over 179,000 games), which gives White a 50.1% score — basically even. That means if you know how to recapture, you're fine. The second-most-popular move, Bg2 (over 106,000 games), scores a much stronger 53.3% for White, so you'll want to be more careful against that. Your job as Black is to maintain solid central control while completing development. If White takes on d5, recapturing with the e6-pawn (...exd5) gives you a reverse Caro-Kann or French-type structure where you have no bad pieces. If White plays Bg2 first, you can capture on c4 or develop first — both are playable, but the engine prefers continuing straightforwardly.

Stockfish's top choice for White at this position is Nf3, and the suggested continuation runs Nf3 dxc4 Qa4+ Bd7. Here's what that line tells you as Black: White is happy to let you take on c4 early, then check with the queen to win back the pawn. After Qa4+, your reply ...Bd7 blocks the check and develops a piece — a clean trade. The resulting position is slightly comfortable for you despite the +0.33 evaluation. Once the queen recaptures on c4, you'll have a symmetrical-ish structure where your slight lag in development is balanced by White's loss of tempo chasing the pawn. If White doesn't play Nf3 — if they choose a different move — you may get even better chances.

The statistics reveal three moves that are clear inaccuracies for White at this exact position, and each one should perk you up as Black. b3 (played 14,051 times) loses roughly 0.7 pawns — White's rating goes down because the bishop belongs on g2, not b2. e3 (5,059 games) loses about 0.6 pawns, and Nc3 (3,143 games) is the worst of the three, bleeding 0.9 pawns. All three share the same problem: they fail to contest the centre or develop the kingside bishop optimally. If your opponent plays any of these, you can seize the initiative. For example, after Nc3, you can take on c4 and play ...Bb4, putting immediate pressure on the knight. In the 3,143 games where White played Nc3, White scored just 46.8% — one of the worst results from any move here.

Across 323,461 games from this exact position, the results are clear: White wins 51.0%, Black wins 44.7%, and only 4.3% end in draws. That's a higher-than-average decisive rate for a closed opening, which tells you the position tends to produce winners. Black's 44.7% is respectable — it means Black scores almost as well as White does in some sharper Sicilian lines. The most dangerous move for you is Bg2 (White scores 53.3%), so if you face that, be ready to respond accurately. The safest move for White is cxd5 (White scores 50.1%), which actually reduces White's advantage slightly — ironic but true. Your best chance for a good game lies in knowing that if White doesn't play Bg2 or Nf3, their score drops below 50% (see b3, e3, and Nc3).