English Opening: King's English, Kramnik-Shirov Counterattack: e4

After 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.e4 Nf6, Black has already achieved something important: you've pinned the c3 knight and put pressure on the e4 pawn. White cannot simply develop naturally — they must deal with the immediate threat. This is a fighting system where you as Black aim to unbalance the game early. The statistics back that up: across 465,085 games, Black wins 47.2% of the time versus White's 48.6%, with only 4.2% draws. That's an unusually high decisive rate for a modern opening. If you like positions where both sides have winning chances and the game rarely fizzles into a peaceful draw, this line is a great fit.

Stockfish evaluates the position at +0.07, which is essentially zero. You are not worse here — it's a completely equal fight. The engine recommends d3 as White's best move, followed by a5, h3, and Nc6. That plan secures the e4 pawn, restricts your bishop on b4, and prepares kingside development. You don't need to memorise a long forced line; the key is knowing that Black stands just fine in the starting position. Since the evaluation is so balanced, your general opening principles — quick development, king safety, maintaining the tension — matter more than any specific 'refutation'.

Not all White replies are equally dangerous. Here's what the data shows you should be ready for: - d3 (202,223 games): White's most common and best choice, scoring 51.0%. The engine agrees this is the top move. Expect a slow, positional game. - Nge2 (61,792 games, 51.6%): Also strong for White. Prepares to kick the bishop with a3 and recapture on c3 with the knight. - Nf3 (58,546 games, 45.0%): This is actually a poor result for White — below 50%. Black scores well here. - a3 (38,429 games, 43.8%): Even worse for White. You can safely meet this with Bxc3 or retreat to e7. - Qc2 (16,130 games, 45.9%): Another move where Black does fine. The engine's preferred d3 is the reply you'll face most often (43% of all games), so spend your training time there.

There is one clear inaccuracy in this position that you should recognise and exploit. If White plays Nd5, attacking your knight on f6 and threatening your bishop on b4 simultaneously, it's a mistake. The engine says Nd5 loses about 0.7 pawns compared to the better move g3. After Nd5, you can chase the knight away with c6, or simply take on d5 and follow up with ...d6 or ...0-0. In the 20,889 games where White played Nd5, White scored only 48.8% — not terrible, but below average for this position. If your opponent tries to get tricky with this leap, you emerge with a clear edge.